the jungle

The last move for the department occurred in 1983 and was done to consolidate instructional and office space in the Dexter Building. This was the former main library prior to completion of the Kennedy Library. Design studios and faculty offices had been scattered all over the campus. Because Hasslein considered all the departments under the college umbrella, all department heads’ offices had been previously located together in the Architecture and Environmental Design Building. The architecture, planning, architectural engineering, and construction management programs occupied Engineering West and enjoyed their organization of classroo Prior to the campus authorizing renovation funding, Dean Hasslein offered the available Dexter Building spaces to all the departments in the college with the caveat that there was no immediate money for remodel.

Landscape Architecture was the only department interested in taking over the second floor of the building, a large open space of former book stacks, reading room and special collections. Students and faculty immediately took to “personalizing” the spaces in time to meet an upcoming LAAB site visit. Over time, Dexter was remodeled by the campus to consolidate space for landscape architecture faculty offices, lecture halls and studios. On the urging of department heads in Landscape Arch-itecture and City and Regional Planning, a joint departmental office was built as a part of the reno-vation. The landscape architecture faculty also successfully lobbied for renovation plans to include an open area, without dividing walls, to accommodate six upper-division laboratory/studio spaces for the department (Currently Room 252.) This creative teaching space helps facilitate important student and faulty teaching interaction to this day.