I ntroduct I on P lann I ng P rocess and P art I c IP ants c hallenges and o PP ortun I t I es a n ew V I s I on
existing conditions
introduction
For over a century, the area east of Hoyt Drive and west of Skinker Boulevard has served as the gateway to Washington University in St. Louis’ Danforth Campus. This area, for the purposes of this study, will be referred to as the “East Campus.” East Campus was originally part of the fairgrounds for the 1904 World’s Fair. Today it represents the university’s last tract of land available for the contiguous development of the Danforth Campus. East Campus presents a unique opportunity to accommodate future program growth, better integrate the area with the Hilltop and enhance the university’s ceremonial gateway to Forest Park and the City of St. Louis.
“A university is at all times a work in progress; thus, its history is never complete.”
— William H. Danforth, Chancellor Emeritus
The East Campus Framework Plan articulates a vision for the future. It continues the legacy of the campus’ original designers— renowned campus architects and planners, Walter Cope and John Stewardson—who themselves established a vision that manifested into the beautiful campus known today. While
drawing inspiration from and being good stewards of the Cope & Stewardson vision, the framework plan also proposes a contemporary approach to transforming the area into an integral part of the Danforth Campus. It articulates how the university can make the best use of its remaining opportunities for contiguous growth. A holistic investigation of mission and vision, programming and pedagogy, development capacity, landscape, mobility and infrastructure will help define what an optimal build-out of East Campus should be.
This report investigates these topics and translates the many considerations into a vision for a re-imagined East Campus. It explains how the university can meet demand for new academic and other spaces, respond to calls for interdisciplinary collaboration, respect the landscape and architectural heritage of the campus, develop in a manner sensitive to the environment and solve transportation and infrastructure issues.
The vision and supporting principles will guide the incremental development of East Campus over time—an armature upon which future projects will contribute to a unified whole that is more than the sum of its parts.
planning process
The framework plan is the result of an 18-month process that began in Spring 2012. It embraced and expanded upon earlier planning initiatives that the university has recently undertaken. A series of in-depth working sessions were held with the university’s Working Committee and Executive Committee, groups formed specifically for the project. The outcomes of these working sessions informed the content of this plan.
Sasaki Associates, BNIM Architects and Andropogon Associates also conducted a series of stakeholder interviews to gather information and better understand aspirations for the future of East Campus. Meetings were held with each school and unit located in or near the area, as well as with groups that provide services and manage events campus-wide. The schools included the Brown School, the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts, the School of Engineering & Applied Science and the College of Arts and Sciences. The Office of Undergraduate Admissions also participated, given the significance of Brookings Hall and its context for welcoming prospective students and their families.
The findings have been synthesized in this document: a plan to structure and coordinate an incremental build-out of East Campus. The flexibility and adaptability of this plan is intentional. While the proposals described in the following pages are steadfast, the implementation of these proposals can be adjusted to shifting priorities and unpredictable circumstances.
“Whatever the plans or prospects of any university for future development may be today, they are sure to be modified as time goes on.”
— Messrs. Cope, Stewardson & Jamieson, September 1900
This plan strives to be a timeless statement that the university recognizes the inherent value of its buildings and grounds as formative elements of the character of both its campus and the institution as a whole. Each project the plan proposes, whether implemented next year or in the next decade, will reinforce the vision arrived at after gathering input from stakeholders, analyzing metrics and testing conceptual designs. This plan articulates the aspirations for the university to steward its exceptional design heritage as it sustains its academic mission for future generations.
participants
executive committee
Hank Webber
Ed Macias
Barb Feiner
John Berg
Ann Prenatt
Steve Hoffner
Art Ackermann
Rob Wild
Ralph Quatrano
Edward Lawlor
Carmon Colangelo
Bruce Lindsey
Dorothée Imbert
Gary Wihl
Jamie Kolker
Jeff Morrisey
Jared Marcantoni
Executive Vice Chancellor for Administration
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Vice Chancellor for Finance and Chief Financial Officer
Project Manager, Campus Planning & Capital Projects
Project Coordinator, Capital Projects
consultants
S. Fiske Crowell
Greg Havens
Allen Penniman
Yaki Miodovnik
Chris Mendel
Steve McDowell
Craig Scranton
Kathy Achelpohl
Gary Koch
Chris Sterparn
Jim Roth
Emily Johnson
Randy Hassler
Chris Conklin
Principal, Sasaki Associates
Principal, Sasaki Associates
Project Manager, Sasaki Associates
Principal, Andropogon Associates
Associate, Andropogon Associates
Principal, BNIM Architects
Principal, BNIM Architects
Principal, BNIM Architects
Vice President, Walker Parker Consultants
Education Market Sector Leader, Davis Langdon
Associate, Cole Engineering Services
Senior Engineer, Cole Engineering Services
Principal, McClure Engineering
Vanasse Hangen Brustlin
existing conditions
challenges and opportunities
East Campus is the last significant frontier of development opportunity within the Danforth Campus, but the university’s ability to cultivate its potential is constrained. St. Louis County requires the university to maintain a specific supply of parking, 21% of which exists in East Campus in the form of surface parking lots.1 In order for the university to grow, this parking must be accommodated elsewhere. However, this is not a parking problem; rather, it is an opportunity for transformation. The key question is:
If East Campus will no longer be a landscape of surface parking lots, just what will it become?
To answer this question—the primary purpose of this document —several challenges must be addressed, including the following:
Due to its location and spatial characteristics, East Campus is disassociated from the Hilltop and lacks a safe physical connection to Forest Park...
How can East Campus be transformed, through a re-imagined landscape and new built forms, to integrate it with the Hilltop and enhance connectivity to Forest Park?
Physical and visual barriers separate academic departments from one another, but there is a desire for increasingly interdisciplinary programs...
How can the physical design of the precinct be improved to facilitate more robust interdisciplinary collaboration?
Parts of East Campus, especially Hoyt Drive, are unsafe for pedestrians. Universal accessibility is not integrated into the path network, and transit is not as efficient as it could be. Bicycle ridership and car sharing is on the rise...
How can mobility systems be optimized to improve safety, efficiency and clarity across all modes?
Brookings Drive is the university’s front door, but the Allée’s trees are nearing the end of their lifespan. Skinker Boulevard is the seam between the campus and the city, but its car-oriented design deters cross movement...
How can these streets be reinvigorated or redesigned to create a welcoming gateway to the Danforth Campus?
Surface parking lots currently occupy the university’s last available land for contiguous expansion. Future development will displace these lots, affecting the university’s parking supply and demand balance...
What are the most effective ways to relocate and/or reduce parking in order to free up land for new buildings and open space?
challenges & opportunities
The university lacks a universally-accessible pedestrian route between East Campus and the Hilltop. Users are forced to use roadways and circuitous routes to get from one to the other.
The Allée is in decline. Many of the original trees have succumbed to disease or natural death. Less than half of the original trees remain. The typical lifespan of these remain trees will run their course by the mid 2020s.
Despite its intertwined history with the university, Forest Park is cut off from the Danforth Campus by Skinker Boulevard, a car-oriented arterial street that is unsafe for pedestrians and cyclists to cross.
University commencement exceeds the capacity of Brookings Quadrangle. A new venue is needed to accommodate the event, but the new venue must retain an intimate connection with Brookings Hall.
Cycling is on the rise at the university, and East Campus is an important nexus between the university’s and the city’s cycletrack networks. However, adequate cycling infrastructure is lacking in most parts of East Campus.
Surface parking dominates East Campus, generating traffic, interrupting the campus fabric and creating eyesores at the university’s front door.
a new vision
Planning for the future of East Campus begins with a clear articulation of the university’s goals and aspirations for it. The vision statements on the opposite page do just that. They describe a future condition in which East Campus embodies a learning environment that the university aspires to (rather than one that is dominated by parking lots). These vision statements set the direction for the physical planning recommendations later in this document. These statements are indispensable, for without a unifying vision, physical planning is reduced to piecemeal development that often results in disjointed built form.
Principles of implementation are needed to guide the university from envisioning a desired future for East Campus to a physical plan for bringing it to fruition. While the vision statements describe what a desired East Campus will embody, the principles profess how to achieve that desired future. Each principle is embedded within the vision statement it supports.
1. East Campus will be a symbolic gateway to the danforth campus, oriented around and featuring Brookings Hall.
• Orient the spatial organization of future buildings around Brookings Hall
• Strengthen the ceremonial and processional qualities of Brookings Drive
• Enhance bicycle and pedestrian connections to Forest Park
• Provide a universally-accessible route to the Hilltop
2. New open space and buildings will complement the spatial quality of the Hilltop and replace existing surface lots.
• Maximize development capacity without compromising the spatial character of open and built space
• Organize new buildings around a hierarchy of open spaces
• Provide new opportunities for outdoor programming
3. East Campus will foster physical and academic connectivity through an integration of landscape and buildings.
• Create a compelling new landscape, and use it to unify the precinct
• Create new north-south and diagonal path connections
• Design flexible buildings that can accommodate multiple uses over time
• Design open spaces to facilitate informal gathering and socialization
Green infrastructure refers to systems that mimic natural processes in order to infiltrate, evaporate and/or reuse stormwater. Gray infrastructure refers to synthetic systems for processing stormwater such as pipes, sewers and culverts. Source: SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
4. East Campus will employ green strategies to built and open spaces, and the infrastructure that supports them.
• Invest in adequate green and gray infrastructure to serve planned development1
• Employ stormwater management strategies and harvest rainwater for irrigation
• Plant only native and adaptive species in the landscape
• Where possible, investigate and encourage on-site energy production, including geo-exchange
5. East Campus will feature a mobility system that prioritizes the pedestrian, embraces transit and is welcoming, safe and intuitive across all modes.
• Optimize mass transit to improve efficiency and access
• Eliminate all but the minimum amount of necessary vehicular traffic
• Prioritize transportation demand management over supply-side solutions
• Establish dedicated bicycle routes and dismount zones
1.
bird’s eye view showing proposed conditions
Brown School Expansion
Sam Fox School Expansion
SEAS Expansion
Entrance to underground parking garage
Entrance to underground parking garage
Forest Park Parkway
Brookings Hall
Olin Library
SEAS Expansion
Brookings Drive Improvements
Skinker Boulevard
Central Open Space
Kemper Museum Expansion
summary of recommendations
While many discrete architectural, landscape, and infrastructural projects are needed to bring to bear the vision described above, pipeline of improvements can be organized under six “big moves”:
1. Organize East Campus around a new green
A central green is needed to tie together the new buildings and landscapes of East Campus, and to provide adequate outdoor space for commencement (which is currently over-capacity). The form of the open space should be oval in order to provide a code-compliant slope between the Hilltop and East Campus. A quadrangle does not provide the necessary “run” to do so. Only the curves of an oval are long enough to maintain a 1:12 slope, as the American with Disabilities Act requires.
The “Oval” should emulate the qualities of the Hilltop that contribute to the breathtaking quality of the Danforth Campus. It should feature an expanse of lawn, canopy trees, and highquality paving materials. The Oval should be a pedestrianonly environment, but it should be designed to accommodate emergency vehicles and the occasional VIP dropoff.
2. Relocate surface parking below the new green
St. Louis County zoning code requires most, not all, of existing East Campus parking lots to be replaced in kind. A 920car, underground garage should be built beneath the Oval to maintain compliance with the code and to provide convenient parking for visitors and other motorists.
The garage should be designed not only for cars, but to accommodate events such as the Bauhaus Halloween party, movie screenings, and receptions. This is being done in places like Yonsei University, Seoul and 1111 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach. The garage should be viewed as an opportunity to create a unique space that contributes to the university’s learning environment.
view of brookings hall from kemper museum patio
3. Plan the site around Brookings Hall and the Allée
Brookings Hall is the defining icon of the university and Brookings Drive provides a ceremonial procession toward it. The siting and massing of buildings should respect and reinforce these beloved campus treasures.
An axis that runs from the arch of Brookings Hall down the centerline of the Allée to Forest Park establishes a line of symmetry. Setbacks and build-to lines should be based upon this axis in order to maintain a harmonious architectural relationship on either side of the Allée and to preserve views to Brookings Hall.
4. Renew the Allée’s trees and improve Brookings Drive
The Allée is in decline. Many of the original trees succumbed to disease and were removed, and many of the remaining trees are nearing the end of their lifespans. A new generation of trees should be planted to begin restoring the Allée to its intended grandeur. New plantings should include a limited mix of native species in order to improve resilience against disease and infestation.
ThurtenE will be partially-displaced when the East Campus parking lots are decommissioned. As such, a new venue is needed. The Brookings Drive mall should be widened from 93’ to 113’ and designed as a distinct campus space unto itself. Such a space will provide a better setting for ThurtenE, as well as College of Architecture commencement, which also takes place in the mall.
5. Build a network of connected basements
There are no back doors in East Campus, which puts the practical concern of making deliveries in conflict with “front door” learning environments. As such, tunnels should be built to connect the basements of existing and new buildings, as well as the garage. Existing loading docks at Steinberg and Brauer should serve as centralized delivery points. These moves will obviate the need for delivery trucks to traverse the campus.
6. Phase development logically and in concert with needed infrastructure investments
The garage is the enabling project in a phasing sequence that will bring to bear the envisioned East Campus. The garage must be built first so that the parking lots can be removed to free up land for new development. It and subsequent architectural and landscape projects will trigger the need for infrastructure improvements and utility relocations. These investments should be sited with planned buildings in mind, and phased so that only obsolescent landscapes are excavated.
* Entrances to the garage can be provided feasibly on Brookings Drive as an alternative or addition to ramps on Hoyt Drive illustrative plan
1. Future building site 2. Office of Undergraduate Admissions or market dining venue
The Oval 4. Regenerated Brookings Drive Mall 5. Regenerated Allée
16. Redesigned intersection 17. Central loading dock
view of brookings hall from a new oval green
B
EAST CAMPUS AND ITS USERS
I ntroduct I on
d evelopment p atterns
t he s chools
c ampus s upport s paces
INTRODUCTION
“Visitors to Washington University often express amazement at the continuity of its campus…This character which the visitor first perceives…is a quality of the original plan which has been maintained as new buildings have been added over the years.” 3
— Buford Pickens and Margaretta Darnall
The 169-acre Danforth Campus is the heart of the university and the academic home to the majority of the university’s undergraduate, graduate and professional students. The university currently enrolls more than 14,000 students, split almost evenly into undergraduate and graduate programs.1 Its signature collegiate Gothic architecture and Oxbridge pattern of courtyards distinguish it as one of the nation’s most striking campuses.
The campus developed in tandem with nearby Forest Park as part of the 1904 World’s Fair, and the functional and spatial relationship between the two landscapes has remained symbiotic over time.
The neighborhoods that surround Forest Park and the Danforth Campus were originally trolley car suburbs of St. Louis. They have retained their leafy, romantic character despite being absorbed by the outward expansion of the city. Light rail service to downtown was restored in 2006 after a half century of absence. Skinker Station serves both neighborhood and campus, with an entrance that surfaces directly at East Campus.
The Danforth Campus lies within three political jurisdictions, which complicates the regulatory framework within which the university must plan. The City of St. Louis, the City of Clayton and university City each govern the campus, but planning matters generally fall under the purview of St. Louis County.
1. Fall 2012 Semester. Office of the University Registrar.
2. St. Louis County Zoning Code section 1003.165.
3. Pickens, Buford and Margaretta J. Darnall. Washington University in St. Louis: Its Design and Architecture. School of Architecture Gallery of Art, Washington University. St. Louis, 1978.
DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS
The university was founded in 1853 in downtown St. Louis. The city was burgeoning during the formative years of the university and its officials recognized the need for a more spacious setting for its campus. In 1899, a national competition was held to choose an architecture and planning firm to design the new campus. The commission was awarded to Cope & Stewardson of Philadelphia, who had gained notoriety for their contributions to the campuses of the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University and Bryn Mawr College.
In 1900, the university began construction on the first five buildings in Cope & Stewardson’s plan, the chief among them being University Hall (later renamed Brookings Hall). In 1901, with the construction of Busch Hall and University Hall underway and cornerstones laid for Cupples I and Cupples II, the university leased to the company organizing the 1904 World’s Fair. The lease money made it possible to begin construction of additional buildings. Academic use of Danforth Campus buildings began two months after the World’s Fair closed, and the campus was formally dedicated during commencement ceremonies in June 1905.
“…if there was one thing more than another which determined the jury in favor of the design ...it was the evidence of thought and study which showed in the block plan, with its changing and yet associated axes following the marked contours of the land, and the intelligent understanding of the needs of each group of buildings.”
— R. Clipston Sturgis, juror, 1903
COPE & STEwARDSON’S BLOCk PLAN
“We
advise a reservation of most of the land in front of the hill for future consideration... As a fitting approach to the building we have indicated a great double avenue of elms or oaks spanning a central walk forty feet wide, and flanked on each side by driveways.”
— Cope & Stewardson1
ThE COPE & STEwARDSON VISION
A “block plan” formed the conceptual basis of Cope & Stewardson’s competition submission, which served as a framework for the arrangement of the first campus buildings as well as buildings that would be built as the university grew. It defined form and spatial arrangement modularly so that it could adapt to the desires of future projects without compromising the unified character of the campus. A century later, the value of these criteria remains paramount to the development strategies for East Campus. Cope & Stewardson elaborated upon the criteria in their competition brief, which outlined the five formative characteristics of their scheme:
1. To make a design in harmony with the striking character of the site but so flexible in plan as to provide the freest possible growth without confusion or revolution
2. To suggest nothing which cannot be appropriately carried out, either in an economical or lavish manner, as funds may be provided
3. To individualize the separate buildings so as to worthily commemorate their donors but to so unite these that they may form one whole and avoid the danger of discordant contrasts
4. To meet, as far as possible, every practical consideration which the experience of the university has determined
5. To choose a style of architecture which shall not only fulfill easily the above conditions but shall satisfy the aesthetic ideal of a university
1. “New Buildings for Washington University: Explanation of Drawings,” Cope and Stewardson, Philadelphia, PA. From the Hilltop Campus Architectural Competition, 1899 Information Files; Series 1, Box 1, Folder 8. University Archives, Washington University in St. Louis.
EAST CAMPUS
Since Cope & Stewardson’s block plan, subsequent master plans have incrementally shaped East Campus into its current form. No plan was executed building-for-building; rather, notions from each were brought to fruition. Cope & Stewardson’s 1899 block plan established the Danforth Campus’ overall layout and system of Oxford-style quadrangles, but its detailed proposals were limited to the Hilltop. In 1933, Jamieson and Spearl Architects were commissioned to design what they called the forecourt of the Danforth Campus. This was the first formal plan for East Campus, and used its distinct spatial qualities as an opportunity
to break away from the block plan. They proposed a Beaux Arts arrangement of buildings, and classical architecture to match. In this plan, three important notions emerged:
1. The organization of East Campus around a central open space
2. North-south connections between the Sam Fox School and School of Engineering & Applied Science
3. Physical connections the university and Forest Park
1899
and Spearl, 1933 PREVIOUS MASTER PLANS
Cope and Stewardson,
Jamieson
The university built Givens Hall and Bixby Hall in accordance with Jamieson and Spearl’s plan, but abandoned its larger vision. In 1988, Maki & Associates introduced modernist planning to East Campus. With Steinberg Hall already to his credit, Fumihiko Maki proposed a plan with a spirit radically distinct from the Hilltop. The university built the Kemper Museum and Walker Hall in accordance with Maki’s plan, but adoption of his vision did not extend beyond the Sam Fox School. Finally, Kallmann, McKinnell & Wood returned to Oxford-style motifs in their 2003 plan. Preceding master plans moved away from the architecture of the Hilltop; however, they proposed a continuation of Gothic architecture and Oxford-style campus design, as evidenced by Rudolph, Whitaker and Green Halls.
Maki & Associates, 1998
Kallmann, McKinnell & Wood, 2001
ThE DEVELOPMENT OF EAST CAMPUS
The university did not expand into East Campus during its early years, and some pavilions from the 1904 World’s Fair remained intact (left). By the 1940s, Givens and Bixby Halls had been built according to Jamieson and Spearl’s Beaux Arts plan. Surface parking was also introduced at this time (right).By 1970, the Allée was in its prime, Steinberg Hall was built, and surface parking was expanded (left). By the 2010s, new buildings began to incrementally replace surface parking, the Brookings Drive rotary was removed, and the Allée began to decline (right).
1970
2013
T h E SC h OOLS
Four schools reside in this area of campus: the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, the School of Engineering & Applied Science, the Brown School and the College of Arts & Sciences. The Office of Undergraduate Admissions and other administrative functions also reside within East Campus. In the 2011/2012 academic year, the approximate population of East Campus consisted of 3,280 students and the full-time equivalent4 of 519 employees (these figures do not include Arts & Sciences, whose population is mostly outside East Campus).
Since its 1899 ground-breaking, the Danforth Campus has developed primarily westward from Brookings Hall. The balance of the land, of which East Campus is composed, has existed as leftover space for most of its history. It became a repository for parking by the mid-1940s and has remained such until recently. The growth of the Sam Fox School and the School of Engineering & Applied Science has incrementally replaced some parking with buildings. As this shift continues, thoughtful and forwardthinking planning is needed to assure the remainder of surface parking lots are redeveloped to maximize such scarce land and extend the identity of the Hilltop throughout the Danforth Campus.
4. Full-time equivalent (FTE) refers to the equivalent of one employee working full time. For example, if two employees each work half-time, the FTE is 1.0.
Steinberg
Kemper
Brookings
Ridgely
McDonnell
Cupples
Busch
Goldfarb
Urbauer Rudolph
Bixby
Forsyth
ThE BROwN SChOOL
The Brown School is focused on social change, social justice and economic justice. Its mission is:
“To create positive social change through path-breaking research and educational excellence.”
—
Brown School Concept Study, 2009
This drives a desire for its capital facilities to be open, inclusive and supportive of outreach efforts. This applies to the overall organization of its buildings and the type and location of individual facilities.
Over the past five years, the Brown School has experienced considerable growth in its student, faculty and staff populations, and has increased the number of programs offered, notably a Masters in Public Health. In response, the Brown School has expanded its facilities on sites beyond the Danforth Campus including research centers on North, Medical and West Campuses. This distribution of faculty, staff and resources creates considerable challenges for the identity of the Brown School and for fostering the desired level of interaction and collaboration. The combined impact of growth and the distribution of research now justify the need for additional space on the Danforth Campus.
Planning is underway for a new building, which will be sited east of the Brown School’s current Danforth Campus buildings: Brown
Hall and Goldfarb Hall. The school’s outward focus and emphasis on community issues is reflected in the vision for the new building, which will include a forum that will host conferences, dinners, policy discussions and many other events. Its design will accommodate up to 700 occupants. As such, the forum is expected to be a major generator of transportation and parking demand.
The values of the program are based on an interest in social justice, sustainability and concerns about the natural environment. These values lead to a desire for a healthy building and to link indoor and outdoor environments. There also is a desire for outdoor learning and activity spaces, and for social interaction and community. Thus, a building that meaningfully reflects the values of the program is important to the Brown School.
In addition to an outward focus, the Brown School curriculum encourages interdisciplinary collaboration within the university. The school’s Danforth Institute of Public Health actively interacts with the School of Medicine, the School of Engineering & Applied Science and the Sam Fox School. In response to the goal of collegiate collaboration, the Brown School has developed a long-range plan addressing the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of its programs. The school is also working to increase undergraduate awareness of the graduate degrees that it offers. To facilitate and encourage interdisciplinary activities and foster a sense of connectivity and transparency, the proposed facility for the Brown School will make classrooms and other resources available to the entire campus as part of the open, inclusive vision for the building.
Cupples
Busch
Goldfarb
Urbauer
SAM FOX SChOOL OF DESIGN & VISUAL ARTS
The Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts was formed in 2005, uniting several academic units under the leadership of a new dean. Today, the Sam Fox School includes three central units: the College of Art, the College of Architecture and the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum. The Sam Fox School describes itself as:
“…a unique collaboration in architecture, art and design education, dedicated to excellence in learning, creative activity, research and exhibition.”
— Design for Excellence: 2010–2020 Strategic Plan
Facilities for the Sam Fox School are located on the south side of Brookings Drive. Significant improvement, expansion, and construction of new facilities for the school have been completed over the past decade. Bixby Hall and Givens Hall were renovated 2001. Two new buildings designed by renowned architect Fumihiko Maki—the Kemper Art Museum and Walker Hall for the College and Graduate School of Art —were dedicated in 2006. The rededication of Steinberg Hall, also designed by Fumihiko Maki, occurred in 2009.
A majority of the school’s programs are located in East Campus. The College of Art and the Graduate School of Art are located off campus at the Lewis Center. Given the projected increase in enrollment and the remote location of the aging facility, the Lewis Center will not accommodate the program or the type of interdisciplinary collaboration that is desired.
To accommodate the anticipated expansion and to foster collaboration, a new building is being considered for East Campus. The vision includes a new studio and research building to be conceived as: 1) a gateway building, 2) a high-performance building, 3) a model for campus sustainability and 4) a forward looking design, responsive to the programs and research needs of the school. The proposed building will include studio and instructional spaces, research facilities and exhibition and social spaces.
In addition to this building, the parking lot east of the Kemper Art Museum is desired for the expansion of the museum. This may include open space for art/landscape integrations and outdoor sculpture.
An Arts Walk is envisioned for the interstitial spaces of the Sam Fox School complex. It is conceptualized as a promenade for showcasing sculpture and other works of fine art. Improving connectivity between the Danforth Campus and Forest Park, and between the Sam Fox School and the whole of the university, is the primary goal of the proposal.
Brookings
Ridgely
McDonnell
Cupples
Busch
Goldfarb Expansion
Bixby
Forsyth
SChOOL OF ENGINEERING & APPLIED SCIENCE
The School of Engineering & Applied Science is pursuing its vision to be among the nation’s leading engineering schools in alternative energy, environmental engineering, sustainable technology, biotechnology, information technology and nanotechnology. Its mission is to:
“…serve society as a center for learning in engineering, science and technology…We strive to provide an environment that nurtures critical thinking and the education of innovators and leaders for the future.”
— Washington University in St. Louis Bulletin
In support of its mission, the school completed a master plan in 2007. The plan identified that new research laboratories and specialized facilities are required to support the school’s mission and goals. As such, it called for a new 600,000 square foot complex on the north side of Brookings Drive.
Since the master plan, the school has been building out this complex incrementally. Whitaker Hall; Brauer Hall; and most recently, Green Hall; were the first three building to come online of six proposed for the complex. Two or three additional buildings are planned to accommodate the Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science, the Department of Computer Science & Engineering, additional classrooms and student services, interdisciplinary centers and institutes and administrative offices.
While about half of the engineering complex is complete, other programs remain to the west in Byan, Jolley, Lopata and Urbauer. The balance of proposed buildings will provide necessary academic and research space required to accommodate the entire School of Engineering & Applied Science within one complex, while also growing student enrollment and hiring new faculty.
A subsurface connection between Whitaker Hall and Rudolph Hall is desired to link the School of Engineering & Applied Science with the College of Arts & Sciences. Access to MetroLink is highly valued in order to facilitate collaborative initiatives located at the medical campus, particularly Bioinformatics and Bio-engineering.
Cupples
Busch
Goldfarb Expansion
Bixby
Forsyth
COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES
Arts & Sciences is often referred to as the heart of the university because it provides the foundation courses for students from all colleges and schools across the university. It includes the core disciplines of the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. Its programs and research centers foster interdisciplinary initiatives such as Environmental Studies and the PhilosophyNeuroscience-Psychology program.
In 2011, the school completed a benchmarking study of its research activity and capital facilities. The study recommended a modest growth in faculty, graduate students, postdocs and technicians; and approximately 260,000 gross square feet of new space. It emphasized the need for the right kind of space to conduct research and train future sciences.
“We need facilities to sustain the core disciplines while enabling new interdisciplinary research and teaching… facilities that are flexible, to allow rapid adaptation to new areas of research and to encourage industrial partnering…Our vision for an integrated science campus is to provide the infrastructure and environment that fosters collaboration.”
— Barbara Schaal, Professor of Biology
The many departments within Arts & Sciences are scattered throughout the Hilltop. A lack of physical connectivity between some of them is an impediment to interdisciplinary research. It is a priority to reconfigure the distribution of its departments to facilitate interdepartmental collaboration. The college also seeks to redesign existing labs for flexible reconfiguration, expansion and retraction as appropriate. Well over $200 million needs to be invested over the next decade to maintain Arts & Sciences’ existing academic buildings, particularly its science buildings that are of deficient quality. Reconfigured labs will open new opportunities for interdepartmental research collaborations, new sponsored research and new graduate programs.
The benchmarking study identified the importance of maintaining close ties with the School of Engineering & Applied Science. As the school moves into its new East Campus complex, it will vacate several Hilltop buildings, presenting an opportunity for Arts & Sciences to occupy and reconfigure those facilities for their use. This strategy would maintain the physical and academic ties with the School of Engineering & Applied Science that are necessary for interdisciplinary collaboration.
CAMPUS SUPPORT SPACES
NON-ACADEMIC UNITS
Office of Undergraduate Admissions
The admissions office currently resides in Brookings Hall, an ideal setting that structures a ceremonial arrival sequence for prospective students and their families. Entering the campus from Brookings Drive, visitors proceed through the Allée with Brookings Hall in view before them, then ascend the steps of Brookings Hall to arrive at the campus’ signature quadrangle and the Admissions office.
The Admissions office is challenged in its existing space. At peak times it borrows space in other buildings, complicating the visitation process. To function properly, the Admissions office requires approximately 15,000 gross square feet to house offices and presentation space that can accommodate up to 175 people. Proximate visitor parking is also desired. The Admissions office typically generates 50 incoming visitor trips per day and 200 per day at peak times.
Dining Services
When East Campus is fully developed, its population will be approximately 16% greater than it is today—approximately 4,400 full-time students, faculty and staff in total. In addition, many visitors will come and go. East Campus’ only existing food service— Etta’s Café in Steinberg Hall—is not sufficient to accommodate the growing population.
To keep up with this growth, a new food concept of approximately 15,000 gross square feet is envisioned. It is conceptualized within the ground floor of a new building on the north side of Brookings Drive in order to distribute food services evenly throughout East Campus. The 2012 Food Service Master Plan details the university’s ten-year plan for dining.
Steinberg
Kemper
Brookings
Ridgely
McDonnell
Cupples
Busch
Goldfarb
Expansion Building Brown
Crow
Compton
Urbauer
Rudolph
Bixby
Forsyth Blvd
Brookings Dr
Throop Dr
Forest Park Pkwy
Whitaker
Brauer Green
Walker
Givens
Brookings Dr
LANDSCAPES USED FOR RECURRING EVENTS
OUTDOOR SPACE USE
The landscape of East Campus hosts many of the university’s signature outdoor events. Some of these events are at or beyond capacity. Others take place in surface parking lots that have been identified as sites for future buildings. The future landscape must be designed carefully to accommodate the specific program requirements of all outdoor events, including:
COMMENCEMENT
The all-university commencement ceremony is currently held in Brookings Quadrangle. It is an adaptation of a medieval tradition founded at the University of Paris in 1100, and as such the event must be planned in accordance with particular rituals. Attendance is limited to 15,000 due to the size of the space, but more would likely attend if more space were available.
SAM FOX SChOOL COMMENCEMENT
Following the all-university ceremony, a focused ceremony is held in the Brookings Drive Mall for roughly 200 graduates of the College of Architecture and Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Design, and their guests.5
ThURTENE
The largest student-run carnival in the nation, ThurtenE began in 1904 as the signature event of a secret society of thirteen men chosen for their “leadership, character and participation in campus activities.”6 Today, it is run by a coed group of thirteen
juniors who are selected by seniors. It takes place each April in the parking lot adjacent to the School of Engineering & Applied Science and in the Brookings Drive Mall. Student organizations curate, construct and operate a series of exhibits, pavilions and rides. The event is open to the public.
wALk IN LIE DOwN (wILD)
Named for the tradition of laying down sofas, WILD is a concert held since 1973 in Brookings Quadrangle. It takes place biannually: once in the fall and again in the spring. Wolfgang Gartner headlined the fall 2012 WILD. Other recent performers include Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Talib Kweli and Reel Big Fish.
BAUhAUS
The College of Architecture in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts hosts a university-wide Halloween party in the spirit of the Bauhaus movement of the 20s and 30s. Students construct a tent to host the event, which is erected in the Givens Hall parking lot. Roughly 2,000 attend the event, many clad in Bauhaus color schemes in tribute to Bauhaus founder, Walter Gropius.
Source: Washington University in St. Louis Facilities Planning & Management, April 2013
5. Adapted from data from the Office of the Registrar. Spring 2012. 6. http://www.thurtene.org.
REqUIRED PARkING VS. SUPPLy
PARkING REGULATIONS
The university is under the jurisdiction of St. Louis County’s transportation and parking policies. A negotiated agreement between the two parties governs required on-campus parking and is codified under St. Louis County Zoning Code Section 1003.165. It requires maintaining a specific ratio of parking to population: two spaces for every five non-freshman residential students, two spaces for every nine commuter students and two spaces for every three full-time equivalent employees. The university is relieved of 10% of this requirement for the promotion of non-car commuting. In 2012, this amounted to a required supply of 4,630 parking spaces. At present, there are 5,109 parking spaces on campus, leaving a surplus of 479.
The agreement considers only private parking controlled by the university. Public parking is not part of the agreement, but it is a
major influence on motorists’ behavior and the supply/demand balance. Public parking in adjacent neighborhoods is unrestricted; anyone can park on public streets, including university-affiliated motorists. Motorists that do not find desirable parking oncampus often seek it on city streets.
The development of East Campus will remove approximately 1,000 parking spaces, which will put the university out of compliance with the agreement by a magnitude of roughly 500 spaces. If the agreement remains in its present form, the university will need to replace some parking within the Danforth Campus. However, the university is currently studying strategies to redouble its promotion of non-car commuting. By reducing demand for parking, the agreement with the county may be revisited.
the framework plan
I ntroduct I on
d evelopment o pportun I ty
l andscape
o utdoor e vents
m ob I l I ty
v eh I cular e xper I ence I nfrastructure
Planning for the future of East Campus begins with a clear articulation of the university’s goals and aspirations for it. The vision statements on the opposite page do just that. They describe a future condition in which East Campus embodies a learning environment that the university aspires to (rather than one that is dominated by parking lots). These vision statements set the direction for the physical planning recommendations made in this chapter. These statements are indispensable, for without a unifying vision, physical planning is reduced to piecemeal development that often results in disjointed built form.
Principles of implementation are needed to guide the university from envisioning a desired future for East Campus to a physical plan for bringing it to fruition. While the vision statements describe what a desired East Campus will embody, the principles profess how to achieve that desired future. Each principle is embedded within the vision statement it supports.
1. East Campus will be a symbolic gateway to the danforth campus, oriented around and featuring Brookings Hall.
• Orient the spatial organization of future buildings around Brookings Hall
• Strengthen the ceremonial and processional qualities of Brookings Drive
• Enhance bicycle and pedestrian connections to Forest Park
• Provide a universally-accessible route to the Hilltop
2. New open space and buildings will complement the spatial quality of the Hilltop and replace existing surface lots.
• Maximize development capacity without compromising the spatial character of open and built space
• Organize new buildings around a hierarchy of open spaces
• Provide new opportunities for outdoor programming
3. East Campus will foster physical and academic connectivity through an integration of landscape and buildings.
• Create a compelling new landscape, and use it to unify the precinct
• Create new north-south and diagonal path connections
• Design flexible buildings that can accommodate multiple uses over time
• Design open spaces to facilitate informal gathering and socialization
1. Green infrastructure refers to systems that mimic natural processes in order to infiltrate, evaporate and/or reuse stormwater. Gray infrastructure refers to synthetic systems for processing stormwater such as pipes, sewers and culverts. Source: SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
4. East Campus will employ green strategies to built and open spaces, and the infrastructure that supports them.
• Invest in adequate green and gray infrastructure to serve planned development1
• Employ stormwater management strategies and harvest rainwater for irrigation
• Plant only native and adaptive species in the landscape
• Where possible, investigate and encourage on-site energy production, including geo-exchange
5. East Campus will feature a mobility system that prioritizes the pedestrian, embraces transit and is welcoming, safe and intuitive across all modes.
• Optimize mass transit to improve efficiency and access
• Eliminate all but the minimum amount of necessary vehicular traffic
• Prioritize transportation demand management over supply-side solutions
• Establish dedicated bicycle routes and dismount zones
bIrD’s eye vIew showIng proposeD ConDItIons
Brown School Expansion
Sam Fox School Expansion
SEAS Expansion
Entrance to underground parking garage
Entrance to underground parking garage
Forest Park Parkway
Brookings Hall
Olin Library
SEAS Expansion
Brookings Drive Improvements
Skinker Boulevard
Central Open Space
Kemper Museum Expansion
sUmmary of reCommenDatIons
While many discrete architectural, landscape, and infrastructural projects are needed to bring to bear the vision described above, pipeline of improvements can be organized under six “big moves”:
1. Organize East Campus around a new green
A central green is needed to tie together the new buildings and landscapes of East Campus, and to provide adequate outdoor space for commencement (which is currently over-capacity). The form of the open space should be oval in order to provide a code-compliant slope between the Hilltop and East Campus. A quadrangle does not provide the necessary “run” to do so. Only the curves of an oval are long enough to maintain a 1:12 slope, as the American with Disabilities Act requires.
The Oval should emulate the qualities of the Hilltop that contribute to the breathtaking quality of the Danforth Campus. It should feature an expanse of lawn, canopy trees, and highquality paving materials. The Oval should be a pedestrianonly environment, but it should be designed to accommodate emergency vehicles and the occasional VIP dropoff.
2. Relocate surface parking below the new green
St. Louis County zoning code requires most, not all, of existing East Campus parking lots to be replaced in kind. A 920car, underground garage should be built beneath the Oval to maintain compliance with the code and to provide convenient parking for visitors and other motorists.
The garage should be designed not only for cars, but to accommodate events such as the Bauhaus Halloween party, movie screenings, and receptions. This is being done in places like Yonsei University, Seoul and 1111 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach. The garage should be viewed as an opportunity to create a unique space that contributes to the university’s learning environment.
Future Building
Pedestrian Corridor
Landscape Opportunity
Primary Pedestrian Circulation
Vehicular Access Service Access MetroLink Station Entrance
Givens
Lagoon
Skinker
Steinberg Bixby
Kemper Brauer
Whitaker
Walker Forest Park
Goldfarb
3. Plan the site around Brookings Hall and the allée
Brookings Hall is the defining icon of the university and Brookings Drive provides a ceremonial procession toward it. The siting and massing of buildings should respect and reinforce these beloved campus treasures.
An axis that runs from the arch of Brookings Hall down the centerline of the allée to Forest Park establishes a line of symmetry. Setbacks and build-to lines should be based upon this axis in order to maintain a harmonious architectural relationship on either side of the allée and to preserve views to Brookings Hall.
4. Renew the allée’s trees and improve Brookings Drive
The allée is in decline. Many of the original trees succumbed to disease and were removed, and many of the remaining trees are nearing the end of their lifespans. A new generation of trees should be planted to begin restoring the allée to its intended grandeur. New plantings should include a limited mix of native species in order to improve resilience against disease and infestation.
ThurtenE will be partially-displaced when the East Campus parking lots are decommissioned. As such, a new venue is needed. The Brookings Drive mall should be widened from 93’ to 113’ and designed as a distinct campus space unto itself. Such a space will provide a better setting for ThurtenE, as well as College of Architecture commencement, which also takes place in the mall.
5. Build a network of connected basements
There are no back doors in East Campus, which puts the practical concern of making deliveries in conflict with “front door” learning environments. As such, tunnels should be built to connect the basements of existing and new buildings, as well as the garage. Existing loading docks at Steinberg and Brauer should serve as centralized delivery points. These moves will obviate the need for delivery trucks to traverse the campus.
6. Phase development logically and in concert with needed infrastructure investments
The garage is the enabling project in a phasing sequence that will bring to bear the envisioned East Campus. The garage must be built first so that the parking lots can be removed to free up land for new development. It and subsequent architectural and landscape projects will trigger the need for infrastructure improvements and utility relocations. These investments should be sited with planned buildings in mind, and phased so that only obsolescent landscapes are excavated.
D evelopment opport U n I ty
East Campus contains some of the last tracts of undeveloped land in the contiguous Danforth Campus. It represents an opportunity to accommodate growth in academic programs and campus population that will benefit from adjacency to existing facilities and campus amenities. It will prove critical to maximize the development capacity of the land located in East Campus while respecting and enhancing the character of the built environment.
East Campus can accommodate up to approximately 645,000 gross square feet of new development
Six new buildings totaling approximately 645,000 gross square feet can be developed in East Campus. Three of these buildings should replace existing surface lots north of Brookings Drive, and two buildings should replace the lots flanking the Kemper Art Museum. A sixth building, which will accommodate expansion at the Brown School, is under construction.
These new facilities should be used to achieve several universitywide and school-specific goals. They should enable the Brown School to consolidate its existing space, which is currently spread across the university’s three campuses; and they should provide adequate space for the its recent burgeon in enrollment, faculty and staff. They should enable the Sam Fox School to collocate its art studios within the Danforth Campus; and, in time, expand the Kemper Art Museum. They should enable the School of Engineering & Applied Science to consolidate all five of its departments in East Campus. They should accommodate a new admissions facility that adequately houses its staff and welcomes visitors to the Danforth Campus. And they should accommodate a new dining facility to serve the many new students, faculty, staff and visitors that will populate East Campus.
To match the established building height and massing generally applied across East Campus, future buildings should include three above-grade floors plus an additional, limited level to allow for architectural articulation.
Below grade, a network of expanded basements should provide programmable space fit for uses that do not require natural light, including certain laboratory facilities. A single basement level is recommended. One basement level is sufficient to meet the university’s forecast expansion needs. Moreover, a second basement level would require the pumping of sanitary lines, which adds significant costs. With a single basement level, waste can gravity-drain into the city sewer system.
CampUs DesIgn & bUIlDIng sItes
Busch Brown
Givens Steinberg Bixby
Kemper Brauer Green
Whitaker
Rudolph
Crow Walker
Goldfarb
* Assumes 3.5 above-grade levels and one basement level for academic buildings; and one above-grade level for pavilions ** The Brown School expansion building was under construction at the time this document was published
Givens Steinberg Bixby
The intent of the Framework Plan is to offer general guidance regarding the future placement of buildings and landscape features on the East Campus. A key objective of the site evaluation has been to create a balance between built form and natural features that maintains and extends the character of the Hilltop Campus. Primary criteria involved in the Framework Plan include the location, footprint, height and volumetric disposition of the possible future building opportunities. While detailed design procedures will be associated with any future building project, the following parameters have been established for such architectural explorations to work witihin.
A series of build-to lines define the location and massing of future buildings. They are derived from a line of symmetry drawn from the tower of Brookings Hall, along the center-line of Brookings Drive, and east toward Lindell Boulevard. Two parallel lines are then drawn from the northern and southern extents of Brookings Hall.
These establish build-to lines for the buildings proposed along Brookings Drive. The Kemper Museum already respects this geometry, setting the precedent for buildings to come. On the east extent of East Campus, Walker and Bixby define the build-to line, while on the west Whitaker defines the build-to line.
seCtIon lookIng north
#1
#3
Create a balance between built form and natural features
A secondary set of build-to lines define “pavilion zones”— landscapes where structures such as terraces, bicycle parking, café seating, or pavilions themselves can be thoughtfully located. The Kemper terrace sets the precedent. It extends 40’ beyond the build-to line toward Brookings Drive. The other buildings proposed along Brookings Drive will follow this geometry. It is not necessary that they all feature terraces per se, however any pavilion structure should respect the 40’ dimension.
These build-to lines and pavilion zones establish symmetry and protect views of Brookings Hall. As one can enjoy a panorama of Brookings Hall from the Kemper terrace today, the same will be possible on the north side of Brookings Drive. To preserve this condition, any structure built in a pavilion zone along Brookings Drive will be of limited height, delicate massing, uncluttered character, and respectful of views.
seCtIon lookIng west
AdmiSSioNS or mArkET diNiNG
mArkET diNiNG or AdmiSSioNS
GivENS
BrAUEr
pArkiNG
GArAGE
FUTUrE
BUildiNG #5
FUTUrE
BUildiNG #2
arChIteCtUral style relatIonshIps
Inherent in the design approach to future construction on the East Campus is the important consideration of architectural character and the appropriate use of materials. The history of the East Campus and its buildings is slightly more complicated than the Hilltop Campus as there were no clear guidelines established in the early Cope and Stewardson master plan or early development of the campus. While the area was clearly reserved for future use by the university, there was no early guidance about how the land and buildings might evolve.
A merging of disparate styles
Over time, the structures which have emerged on East Campus have been varied in character and often idiosyncratic in visual presentation. The earlier buildings, Bixby and Givens Halls, were created on the south side of the precinct with a notable neo-classical character and the predominance of limestone as a building material. The addition of Steinberg Hall and the more recent Kemper Museum and the expansion of the facilities for the Sam Fox School of Visual Art and Design have added a modern interpretation of form and space within this limestone building vocabulary.
On the north side of the precinct, the School of Engineering and Applied Science has expanded with a series of major buildings over the last 20 years which have embraced the extension of the historic collegiate gothic style with its pervasive use of the local red granite as the primary façade material, with accents of limestone trim.
The existing development of the East Campus has been heaviest at
the perimeter of the campus and much less concentrated in the central zone. As defined, the future building sites available must occupy the ‘core’ of the East Campus, necessitating a migration of architectural development in close proximity to Brookings Drive and the historic allee landscape. As noted in these guidelines, care must be taken to provide buildings of appropriate scale and character in this zone.
The convergence of the ‘gothic’ and ‘modern’ stylistic approaches will require careful study for the East Campus. It is recommended that the resolution will emerge as an intermediate, transitional style that will carefully blend the salient attributes of both styles. While the intent is not to suggest specific architectural design guidelines as part of this study, it is anticipated that such a further evaluation would be important as future design efforts commence.
Through the careful placement, massing and articulation of future buildings and other structures, both above and below grade, forecasted programmatic needs can be accommodated. The resolution of architectural style as buildings start to embrace the new Oval space and reinvigorated Brookings Allee will involve care and attention to details and the appropriate use of materials.
A simpler language of form and composition must address the physical character of the precinct, a merging of disparate styles and a commitment to sustainable and economically responsive buildings. All the while, East Campus’s role as the gateway to the Danforth Campus and its ceremonial approach to Brookings Hall will be protected and enhanced.
Maintain the distinction of red granite buildings north of Brookings Drive and lighter limestone buildings to the south
Develop a simpler palette for all future buildings in the central zone of the site which would be designed primarily of limestone
Create a narrower zone on both sides of Brookings Drive which suggests a limestone vocabulary to acknowledge the centrality and balance necessary along the central axis and new Oval leading to Brookings Hall. This would allow for the ‘inner’ side of buildings on both the north and south zones to generate more unique and varied design solutions while presenting a balanced and respectful front to the more public aspect of the precinct.
optIon 1 limestone
red Granite
optIon 2
optIon 3
lan D s C ape
The East Campus landscape should espouse Cope & Stewardson’s vision for its landscape as a symbolic gateway to the university. At the same time, it should accommodate the university’s contemporary needs and aspirations related to themes such as interdisciplinary collaboration, outdoor events and campus character. These goals can be achieved by reimagining the fundamental elements of landscape design: structure, space, circulation, sequence and environment. East Campus should:
1. Provide visitors with a memorable arrival experience
2. Tie together and foster collaboration between the schools housed in East Campus with the rest of the Danforth Campus
3. Link to Forest Park and surrounding neighborhoods
4. Accommodate a variety of outdoor events
5. Attenuate and treat stormwater and harvest it for irrigation
GivENS
BrowN
SChool
ExpANSioN
BixBY
STEiNBErG
wAlkEr
BrAUEr
whiTAkEr
GrEEN
ForEST pArk pkwY
ForSYTh Blvd
BrowN SChool ExpANSioN
ForEST pArk pkwY
ForSYTh Blvd
the oval (lookIng soUthwest)
BrowN SChool ExpANSioN
a new CampUs open spaCe
An open space should be the organizing element for East Campus, providing Arts & Sciences, the Brown School, the School of Engineering & Applied Science and the Sam Fox School with a distinguished presence adjacent to a central, iconic space. Forecourts—open areas in front of the main entrances to buildings—should physically connect each school to the Oval. And the Oval should facilitate universally-accessible pedestrian movement between the Hilltop, East Campus and Forest Park. An open space of this character can be analogized as a dining room table at which each school has a seat and Brookings Hall sits at the head.
Curves are necessary to provide enough length to maintain a code-compliant slope
An oval shape provides two important advantages over other forms. Curves are necessary to provide enough length to maintain a codecompliant slope between the Hilltop and East Campus, which are separated by 30 feet in elevation change. Only an oval form provides the necessary run and fits geometrically within the site. Second, an oval (as opposed to a circle or square), provides the most efficient means of crossing the campus diagonally without creating cow paths, which would compromise the central open space.
prelImInary DesIgn stUDIes
CresCent. This design did not adequately reduce pedestrian/ vehicular conflicts along hoyt drive, and it lacked a distinguished open space.
stretCheD. in this design, the drop-off node at the foot of the oval was too small to accommodate large gatherings or an outdoor stage
longItUDInal. in this design, ramps to the garage cut off pedestrian circulation between the hilltop and the Engineering walk and Arts walk.
pInCheD. in this design, the oval and allée were too distinct from each other
Many permutations of an Oval were considered as part of this study, including (as illustrated on the previous page): a crescent form, a longitudinal oval, a stretched oval and a pinched oval. Ultimately, the recommended design (at left) was chosen for its superior ability to:
1. Provide an elegant foreground for Brookings Hall and a memorable outdoor campus space that ties together the Hilltop and East Campus
2. Gracefully integrate the Allée with the Oval
3. Accommodate the particular needs of Commencement, ThurtenE, Bauhaus and other outdoor events
4. Optimize pedestrian and transit connections while removing vehicles from the center of East Campus
5. Connect surrounding buildings with forecourts
6. Create a grand drop-off for visitors
7. Facilitate universally-accessible pedestrian and bicycle connections between the Hilltop, East Campus and Forest Park
northeast foreCoUrt
diSCrETE ThrEShold BETwEEN ovAl ANd ForECoUrT
opEN viEw To ovAl ANd BrookiNGS hAll oUTdoor SEATiNG
low plANTEd BoUNdArY For SpATiAl dEFiNiTioN ANd UNiNTErrUpTEd viEwS
foreCoUrts
Each building that will have frontage on the Oval should also feature a forecourt, a plaza-like space that precedes the building’s main entrance. These spaces should be designed to facilitate a variety of social and academic activity, including spill-out from class change period, informal interactions, outdoor teaching, and simple hanging out. Moveable café seating should be incorporated into the design of the forecourt that abuts the planned dining venue. The forecourt adjacent the planned Admissions office should include gathering space for beginning campus tours.
These spaces should be great venues for gathering and peoplewatching. Well-designed forecourts will enhance the sociability of the campus environment and strengthen perceptions of personal safety. Seating walls, plantings, cafe seating, fine-grained materials and other landscape features can be employed to bring these spaces to life.
Danforth University Center plaza offers a place for small groups using seat walls, and movable and fixed seating (top). An example of a paved area offering cafestyle seating protected by a vegetated boundary that enables distant views (bottom)
lESSEr CANopY TrEES CANopY TrEES
UNdErSTorY rAiN GArdEN
brookIngs allÉe (lookIng west)
widENEd mAll
the brookIngs allÉe
In place since the early 1900s, the Brookings Allée1 has been cherished by the university and neighborhood communities for several generations. Even though this landscape treasure is historic, it is composed of trees that grow, decline and die. Thus careful stewardship of this landscape will be necessary to ensure it’s sustained health for future generations.
“Trees do not live forever. We need to enjoy them with the heart of an artist, but maintain them with the mind of a scientist.”
- Robert Emmett, Urban Forester
Current and expected deterioration, and a mix of ages and heights stand to weaken the cohesion and legibility of the Allée. However, these realities present an opportunity to regenerate the trees and improve the landscape for generations to come. The following improvements are recommended:
1. Replant the Allée with multiple tree species to improve resiliency against disease and infestation, and choose durable species that can endure the stresses of urban conditions
2. Widen the Brookings Drive mall to improve views of Brookings Hall and better-accommodate events
3. Plant an understory to intertwine and strengthen root systems
Since it was planted, the Allée’s trees have been replaced at least twice. The Allée originally comprised 83 trees, evenly spaced along the inside and outside edges of Brookings Drive. The current Allée contains 55 trees. Of those trees, 35 are fully mature and 20 are replacement trees as young as 20 years old. Many of the older trees are declining due to disease and expected to die within ten years. The younger trees would likely remain healthy for many years if left unstressed, but planned utility lines underneath Brookings Drive will damage the root systems of these trees and inevitably trigger significant losses.
4. Space trees evenly to establish rhythm and focus attention on Brookings Hall and Forest Park
5. Establishing a mid-block crossing to allow north-south pedestrian and bicycle flow between the Arts Walk and the Engineering Walk
6. Install green infrastructure2 to better manage stormwater runoff
1. Used widely in western European gardens, an allée is a linear landscape framed on both sides by trees or bushes. Allées focus attention on a destination by framing a viewshed and formalizing procession toward that destination.
2. Green infrastructure refers to systems that mimic natural processes in order to infiltrate, evaporate and/or reuse stormwater. Gray infrastructure refers to synthetic systems for processing stormwater such as pipes, sewers and culverts. Source: SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
Tree and plant species selected for the Allée and other landscapes should be chosen from the native community for their ability to withstand drought, flooding rains, high heat, seasonal cold, pollution and salt. These selections should also be colorful (especially in spring and fall), attractive in form and texture and easily maintained.
Allées are often planted with a single tree species even though such monocrops are susceptible to epidemics. To increase resiliency by virtue of diversity, it is recommended that a multitude of like species be planted. The examples to the right are a few of many native species that could be employed.
To allow for discrete and incremental regeneration over time
Even a diverse allée will inevitably lose trees over time, whether to extreme weather, old age or other causes. When trees are replaced, they will likely be out of scale with their mature neighbors if the allée is a regularly-spaced monocrop. This can be avoided by selecting a mix of tall canopy and lesser canopy species, and planting them in stippled rows. This allows for discrete and incremental regeneration over time.
plantIng typology
1. TAll CANopY TrEES
2. lESSEr CANopY TrEES
3. BioSwAlE UNdErSTorY/orNAmENTAl TrEES
Ulmus americana Quercus rubra Juglans nigra Liquidambar styraciflua
Hamamelis virginia Cercis canadensis Sambucus canandensis
Rhustyphina Cornus sericea
Amelanchier
By planting a mix of tree types and species in stippled rows, trees can be replaced incrementally over time as they inevitably are lost to extreme weather, age and other causes
1. Tall Canopy Trees 2. Lesser Canopy Trees
3. Bioswale Understory/ Ornamental Trees
Brookings
Cupples
Busch Brown
Givens Steinberg Bixby Kemper Brauer Green Whitaker
Rudolph Crow Walker
Goldfarb
gateway at forsyth & skInker boUlevarDs
AdjoiNiNG TErrACES
ACCESSiBlE ENTrY To TErrACES
pEdESTriAN ANd BiCYClE pATh To dElmAr loop
ArTS wAlk ExTENSioN
ENGAGE STATUE iN ArrivAl
opEN viEwS BETwEEN CAmpUS ANd ForEST pArk dECorATivE iNTErSECTioN pAviNG
BixBY wAlkEr
ForSYTh Blvd
SkiNkEr Blvd
CampUs gateways & forest park
East Campus presents an opportunity to better-unite the Danforth Campus with its neighborhood context and Forest Park. Visual and physical links should be improved at the three gateways to East Campus: Skinker and Forest Park Parkway, Skinker and Brookings Drive and Skinker and Forsyth Boulevard.
Coordinate with the City of St. Louis is needed to upgrade these intersections with traffic calming measures such as special paving, speed tables and/or bulb-outs among others. Such measures slow down traffic and increase the safety of pedestrian crossings on Skinker Boulevard. Improved signage and landscaping should be installed at these gateways to identify and formalize entry into the campus.
East Campus presents an opportunity to better-unite the Danforth Campus with its neighborhood context and Forest Park.
A separated bicycle and pedestrian path should be installed along the southbound side of Skinker, similar to the path that connects East Campus, Skinker Station and the Centennial Bikeway. The Arts Walk and Engineering Walk should extend to Skinker Boulevard and their landscapes should echo that of Forest Park. Skinker Boulevard should be a seam between Forest Park and the Danforth Campus, not an edge. Finally, the university’s Lindell Boulevard property could become an extension of Forest Park. A passive landscape designed for activities such as small gatherings and quiet contemplation is recommended.
rEAdiNG GArdEN (liNdEll propErTY)
pArk pkwY
mETro BUS BAY
dECorATivE pAviNG AT iNTErSECTioNS
poTENTiAl SCUlpTUrE GArdEN
ExTENSioN oF BikE pATh To dElmAr loop ANd poiNTS SoUTh
SoUTh ENTrY lANdSCApE ANd SiGNAGE ThAT CoNNECT To ThE ArTS wAlk
ForEST pArk
wAlkEr
BixBY
GrEEN
ForEST
engIneerIng walk (lookIng east)
BrAUEr hAll
GrEEN hAll
CENTrAl pAvEd ArEA CAFÉ / STUdY SpACE
opEN rECrEATioN (SUNNY SpACE)
engIneerIng walk
A promenade should tie together the existing and proposed buildings that will compose the new Engineering campus. It should organize the landscape and facilitate pedestrian flow to the Hilltop, Skinker Station and other destinations. A rhythm of nodes should punctuate the promenade where building entrances connect to it. Each of these nodes should be celebrated with unique paving, as is common to other buildings entrances across campus. The interstitial spaces of the new landscape should be thought of as outdoor rooms. They should be designed for outdoor instruction, small group gatherings, private study and passive recreation. Loading docks and service entries should have no place in this landscape. All back-of-house activities should take place through the planned tunnel network below.
Trees and shrubs should be planted in rows to reinforce latitudinal movement, and to avoid conflicting with planned underground utilities. The spaces along the north edge of the promenade should be planted more openly to allow for winter sun to warm the spaces. The south edge will be more protected and shady.
Indoor/outdoor connectivity should be emphasized. Architectural features such as glass curtain walls or colonnades can be employed to facilitate visual if not physical links between building interiors and the landscape. A colonnade has the added benefit of providing shelter during inclement or hot weather, and it would match the precedent set by Brauer Hall.
(Top left) Outdoor classroom at Goldfarb. Corners of terraces, paved areas and colonnades can be useful as ad-hoc meeting spaces or classrooms. (Bottom left) Colonnade at Ridgley Hall.
engIneerIng walk lanDsCape featUres
drop-oFF NodE
opEN rECrEATioN (SUNNY)
ENGiNEEriNG wAlk
ShArEd loAdiNG doCkS
CENTrAl
pAvEd ArEA CAFÉ/STUdY SpACE
ArTS/ENGiNEEriNG pEdESTriAN CoNNECTioN
proTECTEd pEdESTriAN roUTE/ ColoNNAdE
Blending indoor and outdoor space can provide pleasant environments for studying, even when the weather is poor. Peaceful outdoor landscapes should be provided for studying and other quiet activities.
arts walk (lookIng west)
BrowN SChool
GivENS
kEmpEr mUSEUm
STEiNBErG
arts walk
The Arts Walk should tie together the existing and proposed buildings that will compose the Sam Fox School. In doing so, several challenging conditions must be considered. The design of the Arts Walk needs to weave in the complex plazascape into a broader campus fabric. Below this plazascape, Kemper and Steinberg have garden levels that cut cross the Walk to allow light to penetrate from the east. Also, building entrances, and facades in general, are not symmetrical.
The design of the Arts Walk must navigate these challenges, while improving overall connectivity and providing a varied and interesting sequence of spaces. The promenade should act as the spine that links a series of outdoor rooms. These rooms should allow for art and landscape integration through sculpture display, outdoor classrooms and seating. The changing aspect of the sun throughout the seasons will allow for both sunny open and shady protected spaces. Similar to the Engineering Walk, trees and shrubs should be planted in rows to reinforce latitudinal movement. However, some trees will have to be placed in planters and point-loaded on columns in locations where garden level program exists below.
A prior landscape plan for the Arts Walk by Michael Boucher should be considered. Particularly, the Boucher plan called for the Arts Walk to connect to Skinker Boulevard, and for the reconfiguration of the plazascape adjacent Kemper to improve pedestrian flow and reduce visual clutter.
The Arts Walk provides an opportunity to showcase student and university collections, and to weave together its plazascape with the broader campus fabric.
arts walk lanDsCape featUres
CAmpUS TrANSiT NodE
ArTS wAlk AliGNS wAlkEr To BrowN SChool ENTriES
ArTS/ENGiNEEriNG pEdESTriAN CoNNECTioN
AdjoiNiNG ANd AdA-ACCESSiBlE BUildiNG TErrACES
pAvEd ArEA
rEdUCE/ rEdESiGN BArriErS To CoNNECT SpACES
ShArEd loAdiNG doCkS
rECoNFiGUrEd ArTS wAlk ENTrY ANd BixBY-wAlkEr CoNNECTioN
CENTrAl
New plantings can soften the plaza adjacent to the Kemper Museum (left). Opportunities for art installations within the arts walk can complement existing installations on the lawn adjacent Forsyth Boulevard (right).
o U t D oor events
East Campus hosts several of the university’s marquee events, including commencement ceremonies for the university and the Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Design, ThurtenE, Walk In Lay Down concerts and the Bauhaus Halloween party. Each of these events carries specific needs for space, capacity, views and other considerations, all of which must be accounted for in the design of outdoor space.
The future East Campus landscape ought to be more than beautiful. Its design should respond to the specific needs of the outdoor events that will take place there
The following pages detail how the future East Campus can enhance the setting, functionality and overall experience of these important events. The Oval can expand the capacity of university commencement, Walk In Lay Down and other events while maintaining Brookings Hall as an iconic backdrop. This allows the decommissioning of Beaumont Pavilion and the restoration of Brookings Quad to its original design. ThurtenE and Bauhaus can take place within the Oval and the Alleé. Similarly, the School of Architecture and Urban Design commencement can continue to be held within the enhanced Alleé, framed by new buildings instead of parking lots.
The future East Campus landscape ought to be more than beautiful. Its design should respond to the specific needs of the outdoor events that will take place there, as well as the everyday activity it will support.
2. picnic Seating
Folding Chair Seating
Upper deck
Speakers/Equipment
6. Stage 7. Support Area/Backstage 8. Faculty Seating
Graduate Seating
Facades
Carnival rides
School of Architecture Commencement
Bauhaus
vIew of CommenCement at the oval
CommenCement
Commencement is currently held each spring in the Quadrangle, surrounded by four of the university’s oldest buildings: Brookings, Ridgley, Cupples and Busch. Beaumont Pavilion, the outdoor stage, was added in 1965. The Quadrangle is marginally capable of accommodating growing attendence to this important ceremony. It can safely accommodate 13,000 seats, but it has been projected that many more would attend if additional seating were made available.
The Oval presents an alternative setting for commencement that preserves Brookings Hall as a backdrop while expanding the capacity of the event. The Oval can accommodate 18,000 to 22,000 seats with adequate access, egress, processional and presentation capabilities.
The Oval can accommodate 18,000 to 22,000 seats while maintaining Brookings Hall as an iconic backdrop for the event
The stage and podium can be situated approximately halfway up the hillside facing east. Candidates for graduation and the audience face west, looking up the slightly sloping hillside toward Brookings Hall. This layout allows the procession of the graduates to pass in front Brookings Hall, with the iconic building as the backdrop.
Commencement at the Oval can become a new tradition over time. It addresses the key issues of capacity, functionality and identity while providing a new, memorable campus place that can furtherstrengthen the iconic presence of Brookings Hall as a symbol of the university.
bIrD’s eye vIew of proposeD CommenCement
BrookiNGS hAll
The Commencement seating plan is similar to the current plan at Brookings Court, with students centered on stage and the Student marshals up front. The procession of the Student marshals follows along the oval and walkways at the side of the stage.
Students
Student marshals
orchestra
Stage/Faculty seating
Guest seating
CommenCement proCessIon
vIew angles
One of the key planning considerations for the proposed relocation of the Commencement Ceremony is the shift in site orientation, involving both the slight slope of the hillside approach to Brookings Hall as well as the relative solar alignnment for the morning’s activities.
The gentle slope of the Oval, combined with an appropriate stage at the head of the lawn, will provide full visibility for all seated participants. Regarding the solar orientation, the audience will have optimum alignment, facing west during the morning hours. The stage orientation, facing east, will have the potential of a slight glare consideration which could be mediated by a canopy or shade device as suggested in the rendering.
bIrD’s eye vIew of performanCe setUp
ConCerts & performanCes
The universityhas a history of outdoor concerts with symphony and other presenting organizations. The new landscape design for the East Campus provides a natural amphitheater within the Oval. Up to 17,000 patrons can be accommodated west of a temporary stage at the terminus of Brookings Drive. The slope of the landscape enhances viewing angles for patrons. Installed temporary seating achieves maximum seating capacity and blanket viewing accommodates less formal performances when reduced capacity is acceptable.
A temporary stage can be installed for each event and the framework plan considered accommodations for projection screens, sound system speakers and specialized lighting for evening events. Temporary fencing can be installed for ticketed events with entry gates around the venue. Services for vending, toilets and other amenities will be located along Brookings Drive. Parking is available immediately below the venue in the underground parking facility. Access will be through stairs and elevators located at each corner of the quad.
ConCert anD performanCe seatIng plan
Controlled entry points Stage Back of stage Standing/lawn seating
bIrD’s eye vIew of thUrtene
thUrtene
Founded in 1908, ThurtenE is the oldest and largest student-run carnival in the United States. The annual event takes place each spring and typically attracts more than 80,000 people over the course of the weekend. Like many carnivals, ThurteneE offers standard fare: amusement rides, game booths and fun food. ThurtenE distinguishes itself in that students directly organize and present entertaining, family-friendly theatrical productions.
The weekend of activities includes carnival rides and creative ‘facades’ built and operated by student groups. The facades house food booths, theatrical performances and games. The event serves as a fundraiser for charity organizations and culminates with a competition among the student groups in which prizes are awarded.
The Framework Plan has been developed with the expressed intent of keeping the legacy and location of ThurtenE as a vital participant in the East Campus. As the rendering (at left)
illustrates, the surface parking lots that have housed ThurtenE in the past will no longer exist. In lieu of the parking lots, the landscaped open spaces have been planned to provide room for the ThurtenE installations and operations within the eastern half of the newly proposed Oval.
This proposed strategy provides adequate space for a stage, the carnival rides and the ThurteneE facades. The facades flank the Oval’s path, with the stage central to the event layout. The iconic Ferris wheel could be situated at the east end of Brookings Drive, providing high visibility for the event. Additional carnival rides would be organized along the entire length of Brookings Drive leading to the events on the Oval. The carnival layout is based on rides and attractions from 2013, but the Allée and the Oval are flexible and can accommodate any number of future configurations
1. Cliffhanger
15. merry-Go-round
16. pharaoh’s Fury
17. portable Toilets
18. Ferris wheel
hurricane
moby dick
round Up
Crazy Bus
mini
Boomer
Scooter
10. Sizzler 11. Cotton Candy
Bounce house
Coaster
dizzy dragon
MOBILITY
The university’s mobility system should consider the many types of users that will pass through East Campus. As the primary arrival point to the university, East Campus should provide an intuitive and ceremonial entry sequence for visitors, including the families of prospective students, museum patrons and those attending Policy Forum events. At the same time, it should accommodate the daily flows of faculty, staff and students in a safe and convenient way.
Today, East Campus is an automobile-dominated landscape built around parking convenience. To become a vital campus environment, it must be safe and pleasant for pedestrians and cyclists, and integrated with transit. The university should continue efforts to reduce the demand for parking, and replace current surface parking lots with built solutions that do not degrade the environment. In sum, the university’s mobility system should:
1. Plan for a sustainable campus transportation system
2. Accommodate long-term growth and the build-out of the campus
3. Enhance safety and security of all transportation options
4. Reduce dependency on independent vehicles
5. Minimize negative transportation impacts to the adjoining communities
In 2011, the university’s shuttles and U-Pass program eliminated nearly two million vehicular trips, the equivalent of 5,400 vehicular trips per day.
Vehicular Arrival
VIP Arrival
Pedestrian Arrival
Metrolink
Drop-off point
Parking
Elevator
UNDERGROUND GARAGE
sequence
Brookings
Busch
Brown
Givens
Forsyth Blvd
Brookings Dr
Forest Park Pkwy
Skinker Blvd
Steinberg
Bixby
Kemper Brauer
Whitaker
Rudolph Crow
Walker
Throop Dr
Forest Park
Goldfarb
Green
VISITOR PARKING
VISITOR PARKING
arrIvaL sequence
The arrival sequence should ceremonialize entry into the Danforth Campus and showcase the university’s spectacular architecture and landscape, especially for visitors. Whether coming for a tour, an event, or a visit to the Kemper Museum, many visitors will come looking for parking. They may be unfamiliar with the university’s layout or its parking policies, thus an intuitive arrival sequence is key.
Most visitors will arrive by car via Forest Park Parkway or I-64. It is recommended that they enter campus via Brookings Drive so they can experience the elegance of the Allée and Oval, with Brookings Hall on the horizon. Visitor parking should be provided on Brookings Drive, and the parking should be short-term (3060 minutes). Short-term parking ensures frequent turnover and increases the probability of finding a space. Moreover, this parking will be adjacent to the new Admissions office, where visitors can obtain a parking pass and campus map, and begin their exploration of the Danforth Campus. This parking can also be reserved for buses or other large tour groups as needed.
Long-term visitor parking should be provided in the top level of the underground garage. Repeat visitors will likely park there directly, but first-time visitors might need directions. From the garage, elevator/stair towers will deposit visitors at key campus landmarks: at the foot of Brookings Hall and inside the pavilions of planned buildings.
Zones should be provided for motorists who wish to drop off passengers. These zones should be located at the east foot of the Oval, adjacent to Whitaker Hall, and adjacent to the Brown School’s expansion building (which will host frequent and highly-attended public events). For special occasions, VIP guests can be dropped-off at the foot of Brookings Hall.
The arrival sequence should ceremonialize entry into the Danforth Campus and showcase the university’s spectacular architecture and landscape
MetroLink riders will arrive via Skinker Station, emerging at the corner of Forest Park Parkway and Skinker Boulevard. From there, they will pass through the archway of Green Hall, a gateway that will communicate a clear sense of passage into a distinct campus environment.
PedesTrIan exPerIence
As a pedestrian, it is easy to recognize the majestic qualities of the Hilltop campus. It is free of vehicles, trees shade the summer sun and buffer winter winds, and handsome architecture frames delightful open spaces. It is a fantastic environment to experience as a pedestrian.
East Campus, by contrast, is a landscape designed for and dominated by automobiles. Surface parking lots generate a constant flow of traffic. Hoyt Drive lacks sidewalks, forcing pedestrians to risk walking in drive lanes. The Brookings Drive Mall is surrounded by a wide expanse of asphalt.
In the future, most vehicular activity should occur underground, allowing the ground level to be a pedestrian realm like the Hilltop. East Campus should feature a gracious and functional network of pedestrian walks. This network should:
1. Emulate the exceptional quality of the pedestrian experience that the Hilltop currently provides
2. Extend and improve the east-west patterns of circulation that run the length of the Danforth Campus
3. Facilitate longitudinal and diagonal connections
4. Establish ADA-accessible connections between the Hilltop and East Campus
There are two latitudinal pedestrian routes that cross East Campus. On the north side, pedestrians travel between the Hilltop and Skinker Station via the School of Engineering & Applied Science. This route functions well today, and the proposed pedestrian
network is primarily a reinforcement of its existing qualities. However, Hoyt Drive will ramp underground, north of this route, so pedestrians can travel freely at grade without conflict with vehicles. On the south side, a parallel route runs between the Sam Fox School and the Hilltop. This route is walled off at its eastern terminus, but should extend and connect to Forest Park. Hoyt Drive will ramp underground, south of this route, to avoid pedestrian-vehicular conflicts and allow latitudinal connections.
While current latitudinal connectivity is strong, East Campus lacks longitudinal and diagonal pedestrian paths altogether. To travel between the Sam Fox School and the School of Engineering & Applied Science, a pedestrian must cut through parking lots and across Brookings Drive, which lacks a mid-block crosswalk. Crossing the campus diagonally is similarly challenging. There are no paths to facilitate this direction of movement. As East Campus develops, the desire for these connections will increase, and will be accommodated by a major longitudinal path extending from the Kemper Museum to Brauer. The Oval will facilitate diagonal pedestrian movement.
The Oval will also provide accessible routes between the Hilltop and East Campuses. To travel between the two today requires pedestrians of limited mobility to take a circuitous route up the hillside. The Oval will provide a more integrated experience.
These improvements will contribute to a complete reorientation of East Campus toward pedestrians, and away from automobiles. They will enhance connectivity within the Danforth Campus as well as connectivity with Forest Park and the university’s surrounding neighborhoods.
Primary Pedestrian Route (accessible)
Secondary Pedestrian Route (accessible)
Primary Pedestrian Route (non-accessible)
Secondary Pedestrian Route (non-accessible) Bus
Busch
Brown
Givens
Forsyth Blvd
CENTENNIAL GREENWAY
Brookings Dr
Forest Park Pkwy
Skinker Blvd
Steinberg Bixby
Kemper
Brauer
Whitaker
Rudolph
Crow
Walker
Throop Dr
Forest Park
Goldfarb Green
A bicycle parking node (left) is a centralized parking facility for bicycles. In a campus setting, a parking node is placed at the nexus of a pedestrian zone and a high-traffic bicycle route. Cyclists dismount, park, and continue to their final destination on foot.
The Centennial Greenway (second from left) plugs the Danforth Campus into St. Louis’ metropolitan bicycle network. Bicycle-pedestrian conflicts can be minimized through the establishment of dismount zones (second from right) and shared paths (right).
BIcYcLe exPerIence
The university’s bicycle infrastructure system is based on designated bicycle routes and centralized bicycle parking nodes. The bicycle routes distribute cyclists to the parking nodes, where cyclists park and continue on foot to their final destination. This system separates cycling traffic from designated pedestrian zones in order to avoid bicycle/pedestrian conflicts. Also, by centralizing bicycle parking into parking nodes, the clutter of distributed bike racks can be avoided. The Olin Library parking node is an exemplary application of this system. A visual amenity in and of itself, the node is conveniently located in a high-demand area along a designated bike route.
By centralizing bicycle parking into parking nodes, the clutter of distributed bike racks can be avoided
In East Campus, the Engineering Walk and the Arts Walk will be designated pedestrian zones. Parking nodes, of the character of the examples noted above, will be located at the gateways to these zones to allow cyclists to dismount and continue on foot.
Outside these pedestrian zones, paths will be shared between cyclists and pedestrians. The university has an established method of demarcating pedestrian lanes versus bike lanes, using stonework within the vocabulary of campus materials. A similar method should be continued throughout the East Campus.
Many cyclists will use the Centennial Greenway to access East Campus. It is anticipated that traffic from the west, particularly the South 40 and the South side of the Hilltop, will use the Centennial Greenway, then turn onto Hoyt Drive. Accordingly, a parking node will be located adjacent to the planned Graduate School of Design building in order to collect this traffic in advance of the Arts Walk pedestrian zone.
Traffic coming from the east is anticipated to access East Campus via Brookings Drive. Therefore, a shared pedestrian/bicycle path along the south side of Brookings Drive is imperative. This path will lead to a parking node adjacent Kemper, again to serve the function of collecting bicycle traffic before it reaches pedestrian zones. On the north side of East Campus, it is anticipated that traffic will arrive from the west along Throop Drive, and from the north along Skinker Boulevard. Accordingly, parking nodes are sited adjacent to the planned SEAS expansion building and Green Hall, respectively, to head off traffic at both ends of the Engineering Walk.
PrOPOsed TransIT sYsTeM
TransIT exPerIence
Transit should be embraced as a fundamental mode of transportation for all users of the Danforth Campus: students, faculty, staff and visitors. This can be accomplished while simultaneously establishing a pedestrian environment that limits vehicles. City buses should be routed along the perimeter of East Campus, and campus shuttle vans should be routed through the underground garage that lies beneath the Oval. Using this approach, transit vehicles can serve East Campus without crossing through it. The placement of bus/shuttle stops along these routes should follow several guidelines:
1. Access from the stop to the rider’s final destination should not exceed a five-minute walk
2. Stops should be spaced far enough apart to maintain efficient average speeds
3. Stops should be consolidated to facilitate easy transfers
Two shuttle-only stops should be located within the garage: one adjacent to the north stairs/elevators, the other adjacent to the south stairs/elevators. The university’s Green Line and Campus Circulator will utilize these stops, making the garage a primary point of departure for riders of those lines whose destination is within East Campus.
A bus stop should be located along Skinker Boulevard to link Metro’s red and gold bus routes to Skinker MetroLink Station. It should feature separate northbound and southbound bus bays that align with station entrances, in order to facilitate easy connections to the underground trolley platform. Riders should not need to cross a street to transfer between the bus and MetroLink.
Finally, a bus/shuttle stop should be located at the intersection of Forsyth Boulevard and (to be demapped) Hoyt Drive. Metro’s red and gold bus routes, and the university’s Green Line and Campus Circulator will stop here. The proposed west campus shuttle should stop here as well; however its drop-off point should be on the southbound stretch of the Hoyt drop-off loop. It should not stop on the eastbound side of Forsyth Boulevard.
Brookings
Cupples
Busch
Brown
Green
Rudolph Crow
Walker
Goldfarb
Forsyth Blvd
Kemper Brauer
Whitaker
Givens
Bixby
Brookings Dr
Skinker Blvd
Forest Park
Steinberg
SKINKER (NORTHBOUND)
SKINKER (SOUTHBOUND)
GARAGE NORTH GARAGE SOUTH
Forsyth Blvd
Kemper
Brauer
Whitaker
Givens
Bixby
Cupples
Busch
Throop Dr
Skinker
Skinker
ve HI cu L ar ex P er I ence
While the design of East Campus should prioritize the quality of its pedestrian environment, many campus users will rely on private automobiles. The prevailing and engrained driving culture should not be ignored. The following recommendations will accommodate convenient automobile access without sacrificing the quality of the pedestrian environment:
1. Replace surface parking lots with an underground garage and locate its entry ramps outside of major pedestrian routes
2. Replace Hoyt Drive with a promenade
3. Bar all vehicles from crossing through East Campus (except emergency vehicles and VIP dropoffs)
4. Connect all East Campus basements to existing loading docks (at Brauer and Steinberg) via a tunnel network so that service and deliveries can occur underground
To achieve a balance between parking demand and parking supply, measures to reduce demand should be given as much consideration as supplying parking. Several existing demandmanagement programs have successfully reduced dependence on the automobiles. Parking should be considered within the context of these programs and the university’s campus-wide regulatory obligations.
In 2011, the university’s shuttles and U-Pass program eliminated nearly two million vehicular trips, the equivalent of 5,400 vehicular trips per day (left). Enterprise CarShare, the university’s car sharing service, has grown 233% since its 2009 inaugural year (right).
TransPOrTaTIOn deMand ManaGeMenT
The university’s transportation demand management policies and programs have eliminated demand for between four and seven percent of its on-campus parking supply, according to a recent study.1 This equates to 200 to 350 spaces, which is the size of the larger Sam Fox School’s surface lot. Several policies and programs have led to this result.
The university provides free Metro passes to full-time students, benefits-eligible faculty and staff and full-time employees of qualified service providers through its U-Pass program. In the fall of 2011, over 20,000 U-Passes were distributed and 1.8 million boardings were recorded. The university also runs several free campus circulators, which recorded nearly 175,000 boardings in the last fiscal year.
Parking permits are priced to encourage remote parking. Remote parking permits cost $15 annually, whereas basic permits cost $495 and reserved spaces cost $1179. West and North Campuses host most remote parking, where parking resources are underutilized (West Campus contains 1,400 spaces that are only 64% utilized).2 Parking permits of any kind are not available to freshmen.
Car sharing is provided through Enterprise CarShare. Ten cars are available in five on-campus locations. Over 10,000 Enterprise CarShare reservations were made in 2011, a 233% increase from the program’s inaugural year in 2009.
The university houses 64% of its undergraduate students oncampus.3 While not a transportation policy, housing students on campus reduces transportation demand by eliminating the need to commute.
The university’s transportation demand management policies and programs have eliminated demand for between four and seven percent of its on-campus parking supply
It is known anecdotally that cycling on campus has risen significantly in the past few years, mirroring a national trend. No data is available to measure how many individuals have given up a car in favor of a bike, but the trend is undoubtedly driving down automobile traffic and parking demand. Recent investments in bike infrastructure, such as the Forsyth Avenue bike path and parking nodes across campus, have encouraged increased bicycle activity. The university is committed to redoubling these efforts.
strengths
Compact and walkable campus
Commitment to sustainability
Fully-subsidized transit pass (U-Pass)
Good working relationship with Metro
Breadth and depth of existing programs
Available satellite parking
Surplus of residential parking supply (South 40)
Willingness to pilot programs
Hiring of alternative transportation coordinator
weaknesses
Lack of available development parcels
Lack of parking access control and parking data
Lack of awareness of alternative transportation programs
Negative perceptions of riding Metro
Infrequent MetroBus and MetroLink service
Lack of comprehensive alternative transportation marketing plan
Bicycle and pedestrian barriers
Limited number of bicycle routes to campus
opportunities
Significant number of commuters live near campus or existing transit
Pricing of parking permits can disincentivize driving
Partnership with academics (civil engineering, GIS)
Partnership with other campus groups
Reduction of county parking requirements
Issues coming to a head
threats
Ingrained driving culture
Access to parking viewed as an entitlement
Unknown economic climate
Little control over public transit operations and level of service
Neighborhood parking impacts
Resistance to alternative transportation modes
Increased event-related parking demand
Increased pedestrian/bicycle conflicts
A 2013 study by Vanasse Hangen Brustlin (VHB) found that, with a robust commitment to alternative transportation, an additional 10 percent reduction in parking demand can be achieved. This equates to approximately 430 spaces. The VHB study recommended the following actions be taken to improve the university’s parking experience:
Increase participation in non-car transportation programs
Provide a marketing and commuter benefits branding mechanism and elevate the level of employee engagement. These programs should be measured and evaluated after a short timeframe (e.g., three years) and ineffective programs should be tweaked or eliminated. Participation in alternative transportation programs and parking and transportation activity should be benchmarked through a formal data collection program. The newly hired Alternative Transportation Coordinator will play a critical role in integrating, promoting and developing alternative transportation programs.
Encourage satellite parking
Commuters should be strongly encouraged to use satellite parking, especially West Campus. West Campus has a 500-space parking capacity that is poorly utilized, and it features a convenient connection to the Danforth Campus via MetroLink and MetroBus. While lowered permit prices have encouraged a small number of commuters to park in West Campus, additional incentives are necessary, including:
1. Increasing parking permit prices for the Danforth Campus
2. Educate commuters and dispelling myths about MetroLink
Negotiate to permit non-resident parking at the South 40
The university should start discussions around the use of South 40 parking facilities for commuters. The South 40 has approximately 150 to 200 spaces of available parking capacity, but county zoning law mandates these spaces to support only residential housing.
Existing surface parking in East Campus . The Framework Plan’s recommendations replace these parking lots with buildings and landscape, relocating the lost parking spaces to an underground garage.
Construct a parking garage in East Campus
To serve the particular needs of East Campus users, particularly visitors, replacing surface lots within East Campus is the only realistic option. A new garage should be built that contains approximately 900 spaces and achieves the following goals:
1. Locates parking within an area of high existing and future parking demand
2. Minimizes risk of not meeting future parking demand
3. Obviates need for additional parking facility in East Campus
4. Minimizes operational challenges associated with large parking garages
Determine prorations and permit price increases
The most likely scenarios for funding the East Campus garage are increased parking permit prices, increased prorations from schools, or a combination of the two. Funding discussions are still in their preliminary stages; however, it is anticipated that the parking permit prices will increase over the next several years.
Study parking price elasticity of demand
Elasticity is based on many different factors including the availability of public transit and car-sharing, quality of bicycle infrastructure, income, average distance travelled, and other factors. While national figures suggest that parking demand elasticity ranges from 0.1 to 0.6 (for every 10% increase in
parking costs, the anticipated reduction in parking demand is between 1 to 6%) it is unclear how elastic demand is for the university community. Since it is anticipated that parking permit prices will increase significantly, a study to determine the elasticity of parking demand for the campus should be conducted. This will help guide estimates of future parking demand and thus future investments in parking facilities (if necessary). It will also provide input for any future parking permit price increases and the financial implications of doing so.
Continue to review campus-wide parking permit structure
Given the anticipated changes to the parking and transportation infrastructure and policy over the next several years, continued review of the campus-wide parking permit structure is recommended. The current parking permit structure limits the university’s ability to vary parking costs based on areas of contrasting parking demand. A survey should be conducted that includes questions regarding the current permit structure and potential changes to it. The responses can reveal motorists’ preferences (e.g., if required to choose, which would motorists prefer: adjacent parking, low cost, guaranteed space?); and as a result can inform changes to the parking permit structure.
Busch
Brown
Givens Steinberg
Bixby
Kemper
Brauer
Green
Whitaker
Rudolph
Crow
Walker
Goldfarb
Skinker
In determining the optimal supply of parking in East Campus, careful consideration should be given to the quality of the campus environment, its transportation policy and goals and the regulatory obligations the university must meet.
St. Louis County currently requires the university to provide 4,630 spaces within the Danforth Campus.1 At present, the university supplies 5,109 spaces, leaving a surplus of 479. As the university’s population grows, the required parking supply will grow with it. According to current population forecasts, the County will require approximately 4,900 spaces by 2020; much of this demand is attributed to East Campus growth.
In order to keep pace with the county parking requirement, most of the spaces must be replaced.
As the same time, the university is planning to remove the surface lots in East Campus, which together contain 995 spaces. In the future, the 1,1010-space Millbrook garage may be demolished as well. In order to keep pace with the county parking requirement, most of these spaces must be replaced, or the county requirement must be renegotiated.
To cancel out the planned removal of existing parking, an underground garage should be built in East Campus. The garage should offset, or nearly offset, the planned removal of 995 surface parking spaces. Any gap can be subtracted from the university’s 479-space surplus.
The layout of the garage should integrate harmoniously with the landscape and circulation patterns planned for East Campus. It should connect to a planned tunnel network to facilitate underground service and deliveries. It should be well-ventilated, feature clear signage and intuitive wayfinding. And its top floor should be flat so special events can be accommodated.
BROWN SCHOOL ExPANSION
GARAGE ENTRANCE DROP-OFF LOOP
GaraGe enTrance FrOM FOrsYTH BOuLevard
After careful study of numerous sizes and configurations, it is recommended that a two-story, 920-car garage be built immediately east of Brookings Hall. A garage of this capacity replaces 92% of surface parking in East Campus and is sufficient to meet the parking demand that existing and planned development is forecasted to generate.
A wide and shallow (two-story) layout is recommended over a deeper, more compact layout for its ability to connect to both the Hilltop and East Campus. A wide layout allows elevators and stairs to surface within the attached pavilions of planned buildings and at the foot of Brookings Hall. A new admissions office and new dining venue are planned for the pavilions. These uses, and Brookings Hall, are highly-public destinations. Direct access to them from the garage enables a convenient arrival sequence for
Two access ramps should be provided: one connecting to Forest Park Parkway and the other to Forsyth Boulevard. These ramps effectively submerge Hoyt Drive, which is critical for maintaining the ability of campus buses and MetroBus to access East Campus. Access ramps to Brookings Drive may also be provided. While these ramps would allow a more ceremonial arrival sequence for motorists (by affording views of the Allée and Brookings Hall), such ramps would degrade the pedestrian environment and come at a considerable cost. Moreover, no more than two ramps are necessary from a traffic flow standpoint.
Elevator/handicap access to the Hilltop
Elevator/handicap access to planned buildings
Forest Park Parkway Entrance
Forsyth Boulevard Entrance
Brookings Drive Entrance (optional)
FORSYTH
1. IDENTIFY GARAGE ENTRY
2. ENTER GARAGE
3. FIND A PARKING SPOT
4. IDENTIFY PEDESTRIAN ExITS
5. APPROACH STAIR
6. APPROACH GARAGE ExIT
ParKInG exPerIence
For many visitors, the garage will be the port of entry to the university. The experience of entering, parking, and exiting the garage will influence first impressions. Thus, the quality of user experience should be considered with great care. A garage that can be navigated intuitively and is pleasing to walk through stands to positively influence visitors’ initial experience at the university.
It is recommended that the garage’s floors be flat. Among several advantages, flat floors allow users to see from one side of the garage to the other. Unobstructed site lines help users identify exits and contribute to a sense of personal safety.
For many visitors, the garage will be the port of entry to the university.
Human beings have an appreciation for natural light and fresh air. Light wells can be integrated into the design of the garage to allow sunlight to penetrate the structure and air to flow through it. They also connect the user to the outdoor environment above, counteracting the cavernous feel that many underground garages imbue.
“Bubble decks” drastically reduce the volume of required concrete, reducing costs and improving environmental performance while maintaining required structural strength.
eLecTrIc LIGHTInG
Electric lighting loads can be reduced through daylight sensors, LED and other high-efficiency bulbs, occupancy sensors and timers. These strategies ensure the lights are on only when needed.
GeO-excHanGe
Geo-exchange uses the stable temperature of the earth to reduce temperature differential in air conditioning and ventilation systems. This strategy reduces cooling load in summer and heating load in winter.
WaTer
Directing stormwater run-off to swales or rain gardens reduces load on municipal system and reduces risk of flash flooding. It is also possible to capture, store and reuse rainwater on site for irrigation, toilet flush, and other greywater applications.
daYLIGHTInG
Providing openings in the top and sides of the garage improves visibility while creating opportunities for natural ventilation and reduced lighting loads. Daylight can also be used selectively to establish simple wayfinding beacons to pedestrian exits.
naTuraL venTILaTIOn
Using natural ventilation drastically reduces energy demand used for conditioning space and moving fresh air. Coupling passive and active ventilation with occupancy and CO2 sensors can further reduce the energy demand.
adaPTed reuse OF a ParKInG GaraGe aT THe
ucLa MedIcaL cenTer
aLTernaTIve uses FOr THe GaraGe
The underground garage should be designed for use beyond parking; both for temporary transformations and permanent adaptations. The university puts on several unique events and installations that could take place in the garage. For example, the Sam Fox School’s Walter Gropius-themed Halloween party, Bauhaus, is currently held under a tent in the parking lot adjacent Walker Hall. It will be displaced when that parcel is developed. Movie screenings, art installations and receptions are a few other examples of events the garage can accommodate. Moreover,the novelty of a garage setting stands to add a unique flavor to these events.
In the long term, the university may consider permanently reprogramming a portion of the garage. The current nationwide decline in car ownership rates may precipitate a reduction in parking demand, or the university may consider reducing parking supply as a policy decision. In any case, the top level of the garage should feature flat floors, adequate ceiling height, and access to natural light so that it can be repurposed as academic, studio/ workshop, administrative, research or other uses.
The UCLA Medical Center recently completed an adaptive reuse of a former parking garage. It retrofitted portions of the structure for an eye research laboratory and outpatient treatment clinics; and it plans to repurpose additional space for a book repository in the near future. The UCLA example is particularly relevant to Washington University in St. Louis for three reasons:
1. The adaptive reuse occurred incrementally over a period of years as demand for parking diminished and needs for programmatic space increased.
2. The garage’s access ramps and pedestrian circulation systems were designed to allow concurrent occupancy by parking and other uses.
3. The garage has a landscaped terrace as its roof.
adaPTed reuse
Featuring flat floors, vaulted cielings, and access to natural light an air; the garage can be repurposed for tempory uses such as movie screenings, receptions and installations among others. Or it can permanently adapted for galleries, archives, a cafeteria, or other uses.
Above-Grade Footprint
BaseMenT PLan
Brookings
Busch Brown
Givens
Forsyth Blvd
Brookings Dr
Forest Park Pkwy
Skinker Blvd
Steinberg Bixby
Kemper
Brauer
Whitaker
Rudolph Crow
Walker
Throop Dr
Forest Park
Goldfarb
Green
servIce access
The garage should tie into a tunnel network that allows the centralization of service and deliveries. In doing so, servicerelated pedestrian-vehicle conflicts can be minimized, and the need for additional, unsightly loading docks can be obviated. Service and delivery vehicles should be able to access all East Campus buildings from any of three points: the garage, Brauer loading dock, or Steinberg loading dock. Walker and Building 6 are exceptions. Existing utility infrastructure occludes a basement connection to these buildings.
The garage should be utilized for small deliveries. Its clearance should be 13 feet; sufficient to allow delivery vans, campus shuttle vans and ambulances. Any greater clearance would require the ramps to interrupt surface-level pedestrian walks. The loading docks at garage level B1 should be flush with the B1 levels of Building 1 and Building 5.
Brauer and Steinberg loading docks should be utilized for large deliveries because they can accommodate full-size trucks. These loading docks should tie into the tunnel network by reconfiguring existing interior circulation and constructing new tunnels as shown in the diagram to the left.
The perimeter of the existing Walker parking lot should be adapted into an alley that can accommodate service and delivery access to Walker Hall and Building 6. Neither of these buildings can be connected to the tunnel network due to an existing utility duct bank adjacent to Kemper’s east facade.
Finally, the basements of Green Hall and Building 3 should not be connected. Needed utility lines will require an unobstructed underground corridor to run east out of the Engineering Quad, hence this underground space should be kept open.
servIce access
FUTURE
BUILDING #5
ADMISSIONS OR MARKET DINING
UNDERGROUND GARAGE
FUTURE
BUILDING #2
MARKET DINING OR ADMISSIONS
n F ras T ruc T ure
The development of East Campus will require new infrastructure and the relocation of some existing infrastructure. Utility lines along Hoyt Drive and beneath surface parking lots need to be rerouted to make room for the garage and the basements of new buildings; and need to be coordinated with future landscape conditions to protect the root systems of trees and to manage stormwater. The sequence of these investments has implications for how the build-out of East Campus is phased.
East Campus contains a network of sewers that carry both stormwater and sanitary waste to a public sewer system located outside the limits of the campus property. The outside edge of the campus is a major utility corridor for water, sanitary sewer, storm sewer, electric and telecommunications. These corridors should be maintained to limit service disruptions and significant utility relocation costs.
Civil Engineering
Utility corridors are planned for both the north and south sides of Brookings Drive. Sanitary and storm sewers should be located within these corridors to serve the development of the new buildings in East Campus.
Planned stormwater improvements include providing storm sewers and drainage structures to carry runoff from the developed areas to the existing sewers, relocating the existing underground detention pipe and relocating the existing irrigation cistern.
Careful planning will be required to ensure the stormwater within the Engineering Walk can drain by gravity rather than require a mechanical pump for discharge. Since tunnels are proposed to connect East Campus buildings, an unobstructed corridor must be preserved for the routing of a storm sewer (and utilitiy lines). Underground building connection elevations and utility minimum depth requirements should be established as part of the master plan for future planning uses.
Infrastructure investments need to be coordinated with future landscape conditions to protect the root systems of trees
Due to the proposed tunnels, two separate storm sewer systems may be required. One system would capture, transport and direct stormwater to the relocated underground stormwater detention system. The otherwould capture the roof drains from the new buildings and direct it to the relocated underground stormwater detention system. The design of the detention should be coordinated with the stormwater master plan requirements and future development.
East Campus sewers will connect to the existing public sewer at the intersection of Brookings Drive and Skinker Boulevard, which is a combined sewer system. There is a possibility the basement levels (elevation 489’) of Buildings 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 are below the
hydraulic grade line at the connection to the existing 12’x 12’ box culvert. If this is the case, we would recommend that this level (elevation 489’) be designed with a backup mechanical pump system that would provide continual operation of the building drainage system in the event that large storm events surcharge the downstream system. All buildings connected to the new storm and sanitary sewers should be protected from downstream sewer backups that may occur during significant rain events with a backflow protection device.
At the time of this report, stormwater quality treatment will not be required by the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) for East Campus projects because the projects are within the combined sewer area. However, the university should consider the implementation of BMPs such as bioswales, bioretention basins, pervious pavement and disconnected roof drains, to promote Low Impact Development and sustainability and to assist in acquiring stormwater related LEED points.
W M S Water Main
Chilled Water
Mechanical, Electrical, and Telecommunications
Stormwater Sanitary Sewer
Stormwater Detention Basin
Rainwater Harvesting Cistern
exIsTInG uTILITIes PLan
Forest Park Pkwy
Skinker
Steinberg
Bixby
Kemper
Rudolph Whitaker Brauer Green
Crow
Walker Forest Park
BUILDING 1 BRAUER
BUILDING 2
sITe uTILITIes
The existing utility infrastructure for East Campus was planned to provide utilities to Whitaker Hall. The design was for the utilities to be on the outer perimeter of East Campus, within close proximity to the future buildings while not impacting the future building sites. The side along Hoyt Drive was left uncompleted to allow for a future underground parking garage, with the exception of chilled water and water needed for the systems to function, knowing that they would need to be rerouted in the future when the garage construction occurred.
Chilled water is a one-pipe loop circulating in a counter clockwise direction. This design is similar to the system the serves the Danforth Campus for the area of campus west of Hoyt. Most buildings will have a chiller sized for the building load that is connected to the one-pipe chilled water loop. Opportunities should be explored, where feasible, to provide a single chiller that can serve an additional building if project phasing and geometry allows.
Heating water is from two regional plants: Thermal Plant #5, located in Whitaker Hall to serve the buildings north of Brookings Drive; and Thermal Plant #6, located in Kemper Art Museum to serve the buildings south of Brookings Drive.
Water for potable and fire use is a combined system that is connected to the St. Louis City water supply located in Skinker Boulevard; it is a looped system with one connection near Forest Park Parkway and the second connection located near Forsyth Boulevard. Buildings are connected with a three valve arrangement that allows feeding to the building from either direction off the loop if a section of the loop is unavailable due to maintenance or repairs.
Natural gas is a single feed from the power plant; the line runs along the campus perimeter paralleling Forest Park Parkway and Skinker Boulevard.
Electric is provided from the power plant to regional distribution switchgear located in Whitaker Hall. From Whitaker Hall 5kV loops provide power through a ductbank and manhole system around the parameter of the precinct with a portion left to be completed along Hoyt Drive.
Telecommunications are distributed through a ductbank and manhole system around the parameter of the precinct with a portion left to be completed along Hoyt Drive. Telephone service is from Brookings Hall and data service is from Rudolph Hall.
Supply/ Return Header
8” Dia. x 300’ D. Bore (Typ.)
POTenTIaL GeO-excHanGe sYsTeM
Supply/Return Piping to each Loop (Typ.)
Maintain 20’ Radius Clearance @ Each Bore Hole
T.O. Limestone
8” Dia. x 300’ D. Bore (Typ.)
Maintain 20’ Radius Clearance @ Each Bore Hole
Minimum
300’ Bore Depth
The excavation of the garage site presents an opportunity to install a ground-source heating and cooling system, referred to as “geoexchange.” Such systems use the earth as a heat source during winter months and a heat sink during summer months. A field of wells, each at least 300 feet deep, is bored into the
The recommended...scheme...would produce enough heating and cooling load to condition approximately 75,000 square feet of interior space
ground to facilitate thermal exchange between building interiors and the earth below. Geo-exchange systems are among the most energy and cost-efficient heating and cooling systems available. They produce zero local emissions and represent a low-impact alternative to conventional HVAC systems.
The capacity of a geo-exchange system in East Campus depends on the size of the proposed underground parking garage. The larger the footprint, the more wells can be bored and the greater the capacity of the system. The recommended two-story garage scheme would allow about 100 wells to be bored, which would produce enough heating and cooling load to condition approximately 75,000 square feet of interior space.1 This is the rough equivalent of one academic building. However, it is recommended that the geo-exchange system tie into the university’s existing chilled water loop that serves East Campus. This approach would yield greater efficiencies and it would reduce the heating and cooling load of multiple buildings.
Stormwater Flow
Pervious Landscapes
Underground Detention Basin
Stormwater Outflow into the City of St. Louis Combined Sewer System Brookings
Green InFrasTrucTure
The development of East Campus will require existing stormwater management infrastructure to be replaced and new infrastructure to be built. This presents an opportunity to invest in “green infrastructure,” a term that refers to systems that mimic natural processes in order to infiltrate, evaporate and/or reuse stormwater. Green infrastructure provides alternatives to conventional “gray infrastructure”: synthetic systems for processing stormwater such as pipes, sewers and culverts.1 Green infrastructure presents several advantages over gray infrastructure, including the following:
1. It is often cheaper to build, maintain and replace
2. Rainwater is harvested and stored for use as a free irrigation source
3. Stormwater attenuation occurs on campus before it enters the city’s combined sewer system
4. Water-borne pollutants are effectively treated
5. It can provide a visual and ecological amenity
Some green infrastructure is already in place in East Campus. As part of its LEED certification, the Engineering Complex draws its irrigation water from two retrofitted sewer lines that harvest rainwater from roofs. They are located beneath the Engineering parking lot. In order to free that land for development and
maintain LEED certification, the retrofitted sewer lines should be replaced by a dedicated rainwater harvesting cistern to be located beneath the Brookings Drive Mall.
A system of bioswales should provide the primary infrastructure for managing surface runoff. A bioswale is a low tract of land that attenuates the flow of water and filters out pollutants. It is both a devise for cleaning water and mitigating flooding. It can also be a visual amenity if careful attention is paid to landscape design.
If a rain event significant enough to overwhelm the bioswale system’s ability to process the incoming volume of water occurs, water will overflow into an underground detention basin beneath the Brookings Drive Mall. This detention basin will act as a fail safe that prevents floodwater from entering the city combined sewer system.
The university is committed to sustainable land stewardship for the campus, immediate neighbors and for the City of St. Louis, Clayton and the River Des Peres watershed. Doing so provides meaningful “real-world” examples of sustainable design in the daily lives of students. Interpretive signage should also be a part of this effort to make sure that all are aware of the university’s sustainable design features.
Completing t he Vision
P rocess & c ommunications
P hasing c ontinuity & t ransformation
p ro C ess and C ommuni C ations
As with any campus development project, the implementation of the framework plan involves coordination with many stakeholders. Those internal to the university include faculty, staff and students; and those belonging to the broader university community include alumni, donors, neighbors and friends. Public stakeholders include municipal officials and other regulatory and entitlement bodies. All stakeholders should be involved in the process of bringing to bear the vision for East Campus.
The university has active relationships with these stakeholders in place and it has already engaged many of them on its plans for East Campus. The City of St. Louis Zoning Code requires the university to file a Community Unit Plan (CUP) detailing its long-term vision for campus development. Since the university filed a CUP in 2001 (updated in 2007), it has been meeting regularly with the City and its Board of Aldermen as the university’s vision is implemented incrementally. The university has also engaged stakeholders internal to the university. The Executive Vice Chancellor for Administration is engaged with the University Management Team (UMT) and other groups on campus.
As the process continues, stakeholder engagement should redouble around the multiple individual projects that will come out of the framework plan. The Office of Government & Community Relations and the Office of Facilities Planning & Management will need to work together and with university administration to develop processes that engage stakeholders of each project.
flow Chart of CommuniCations
UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNITY RELATIONS
COMMUNICATION
FACILITIES PLANNING & MANAGEMENT
OUTREACH&FEEDBACK
OUTREACH&FEEDBACK
INTERNAL WUSTL COMMUNITY ALUMNI
DONORS
COMMUNITY/ NEIGHBORHOOD ORGS
CITY OF ST. LOUIS CITY OF CLAYTON ST. LOUIS COUNTY
PROJECT 1
PROJECT 2
PROJECT 3
phasing
There are multiple sequences by which East Campus can be built out, but four principles drive the general ordering of projects. Chief among them is that the garage should be built first in order to remain in compliance with St. Louis County parking minimums. Second, the Oval should immediately follow the completion of the garage, leveraging the capping work across both projects.
Fundraising outcomes, shifting priorities, pedagogy and other forces will ultimately determine which sequence the university chooses to pursue.
Third, construction of any portion of the Engineering campus triggers the need to replace a stormwater detention basin and a rainwater harvesting cistern that currently lies beneath the site. And fourth, any Brookings Drive improvements and allée regeneration (not already completed as part of the Oval) should not proceed until all utility investments have been completed, so that newly-planted trees go undisturbed and fresh pavement is not torn up to place utility lines. Within this general order, the exact project sequence is flexible; projects can be shuffled and/or grouped.
Rather than prescribe a particular phasing sequence, four alternative sequences were studied under the framework plan. Except where noted, architectural and landscape projects were expected to span two years of pre-construction and two years of construction. Infrastructure projects were expected to span one year of pre-construction and one year of construction. Fundraising outcomes, shifting priorities, pedagogy and other forces will ultimately determine which sequence the university chooses to pursue. Any of these alternatives is a logical path toward fulfillment of the university’s vision for East Campus.
phasing prinCiples
1. Construct the garage first.
2. The Oval should immediately follow the garage.
3. The stormwater detention basin and rainwater harvesting cistern must be replaced before construction of the Engineering campus can proceed.
4. All infrastructure investments must be complete before Brookings Drive improvements can proceed.
Brown School Expansion
Utility Relocations (Garage)
Underground Garage (1)
The Oval (A)
Brookings Drive Improvements Phase I (B)
Harvesting Cistern Replacement (C)
Detention Basin Replacement (D)
Utility Relocations (SEAS)
SEAS Building (2)
Utility Relocations (Sam Fox)
Graduate School of Design
Brookings Drive Improvements Phase II (E)
SEAS Building (4)
SEAS Building (5)
Kemper Museum Expansion
Pre-Construction Construction
Enabling Project Dependent Project
ADVANTAGES
Capital investments are spread out over a longer period
Construction sites are most compact
DISADVANTAGES
Sequence of building out East Campus is most protracted
Relocate utility lines and construct the underground garage. This phase can begin the day after 2015 Commencement.
Cap the garage with the Oval.
Reroute utility lines to Skinker Boulevard and construct the Graduate School of Design building.
Replace the rainwater harvesting cistern and stormwater detention basin. Complete Phase I of allée regeneration and construct the first Engineering building.
In any sequence: regenerate the Allée, improve Brookings Drive, and complete the Kemper Museum expansion and the Engineering campus.
Kemper Museum Expansion
The Oval
Brookings Drive Improvements (Phase I)
Harvesting Cistern
Detention Basin
Drive Improvements (Phase II)
Brown School Expansion
Utility Relocations (Garage)
Harvesting Cistern Replacement (C)
Detention Basin Replacement (D)
Utility Relocations (SEAS)
Underground Garage (1)
SEAS Building (2)
The Oval (A)
Brookings Drive Improvements Phase I (B)
Utility Relocations (Sam Fox)
Graduate School of Design
Brookings Drive Improvements Phase II (E)
SEAS Building (4)
SEAS Building (5)
Kemper Museum Expansion
Pre-Construction Construction
Enabling Project Dependent Project
ADVANTAGES
Shorter overall construction period is achieved by undertaking multiple projects simultaneously
DISADVANTAGES
Funding simultaneous projects requires significant Phase 1 capital
In Phase 1, the entire East Campus, from Brookings Hall to Skinker Boulevard, would be a construction zone for 20 months
Increased difficulty and cost associated with the construction of the Sam Fox School graduate design building
1
Relocate utility lines, and replace the rainwater harvesting cistern and stormwater detention basin. Construct the underground garage and the first Engineering building simultaneously.
Cap the garage with the Oval.
In any sequence: regenerate the Allée, improve Brookings Drive, and complete the Kemper Museum expansion and the Engineering campus.
Complete Phase I of the allée regeneration, relocate utility lines and construct the Graduate School of Design building.
Brown School Expansion
Utility Relocations (Garage)
Utility Relocations (Sam Fox)
Underground Garage (1)
Graduate School of Design
The Oval (A)
Harvesting Cistern Replacement (C)
Detention Basin Replacement (D)
Utility Relocations (SEAS)
SEAS Building (2)
Brookings Drive Improvements Phase I (B)
Brookings Drive Improvements Phase II (E)
SEAS Building (4)
SEAS Building (5)
Kemper Museum Expansion
Pre-Construction Construction
Enabling Project Dependent Project
ADVANTAGES
Shorter overall construction period is achieved by undertaking multiple projects simultaneously Infrastructure investments are spread out over time
DISADVANTAGES
Funding simultaneous projects requires significant Phase 1 capital
Relocate utility lines, and construct the underground garage and the Graduate School of Design building simultaneously.
Cap the garage with the Oval.
In any sequence: regenerate the Allée, improve Brookings Drive, and complete the Kemper Museum expansion and the Engineering campus.
Relocate utility lines, replace the stormwater detention basin and rainwater harvesting cistern, construct the first Engineering building, and complete Phase I allée regneration.
Brown School Expansion
Utility Relocations (Garage)
Utility Relocations (Sam Fox)
Harvesting Cistern Replacement (C)
Detention Basin Replacement (D)
Utility Relocations (SEAS)
Underground Garage (1)
Graduate School of Design
SEAS Building (2)
The Oval (A)
Brookings Drive Improvements Phase I (B)
Brookings Drive Improvements Phase II (E)
SEAS Building (4)
SEAS Building (5)
Kemper Museum Expansion
Pre-Construction Construction
Enabling Project Dependent Project
ADVANTAGES
Shorter overall construction period is achieved by undertaking multiple projects simultaneously
Shortest for building out East Campus
DISADVANTAGES
Funding simultaneous projects requires significant Phase 1 capital
In Phase 1, the entire East Campus, from Brookings Hall to Skinker Boulevard, would be a construction zone for 23 months
Relocate utility lines; replace the stormwater detention basin and rainwater harvesting cistern; and construct the underground garage, first Engineering building, and the Graduate School of Design building simultaneously.
Cap the garage with the Oval.
In any sequence: regenerate the Allée, improve Brookings Drive, and complete the Kemper Museum expansion and the Engineering campus.
bird’s eye View of interim Conditions
interim Conditions
As East Campus develops, thoughtful consideration of interim conditions is needed to ensure a high-quality campus environment is maintained without wasteful investments in temporary landscapes. It may take approximately 15 to 20 years to build out East Campus. During this period, inexpensive yet elegant landscapes should be installed so that unbuilt parcels contribute to the campus environment rather than detract from it.
Once the garage is complete, the surface parking lots that are not developed can be converted into temporary landscapes (retaining the parking lots is discourged, for they are obviated by the garage).
These spaces are suitable for a number of temporary uses, including but not limited to: lawn, a recreation field, art installations or a pop-up cafe. Ironically, these parcels were temporary landscapes before parking was installed. They can be restored to that condi-
For much of its history, East Campus was a temporary landscape that consisted of lawn and limited plantings.
C ontinuity & transformation
The development of East Campus will involve both continuity and transformation. Great educational institutions thrive by maintaining a balance between the traditions that distinguish them, and the many forces of change they constantly confront. Tradition and continuity are powerful sources of strength, reflected in each institution’s mission, cultural values and place identity. Continuity requires dedicated stewardship and spirited renewal of the institutional mission and campus environment.
Institutions such as Washington University in St. Louis nourish these strengths by infusing the campus with new vitality, honoring traditional settings while advancing their relevance as places of contemporary learning and living. New architecture and landscapes should not only elevate academic and campus life, but also strengthen the identity of the institution.
Such opportunities are clearly present in East Campus, which will play the leading role in the university’s next chapter of growth. The initiatives this framework plan proposes for East Campus
honor both its extraordinary sense of place and the evolving notions of transformation being embraced by the university. The essence of how a framework plan ought to balance tradition and change was captured in the enduringly relevant vision of the university’s original campus designers, Walter Cope and John Stewardson. In 1899, they asserted the priority of the plan was:
“To make a design in harmony with the striking character of the site but so flexible in plan as to provide the freest possible growth without confusion or revolution.”
