OT: Schenley Quad rennovation
- Thread starter CrazyPaco
- Start date
Also, the new Heinz Chapel garden and fountain:
You can put your name on or dedicate pavers and benches around this garden: http://giveto.pitt.edu/node/1447
You can put your name on or dedicate pavers and benches around this garden: http://giveto.pitt.edu/node/1447
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And if you missed it earlier in the summer, the new Thomas Starzl statue behind the Cathedral:
Open and nurturing type spaces in an urban setting increase civility by an X factor and for private property increases property values exponentially.
The teenage boy in me envisions a MAD magazine sceanrio where the statue of Dr. S has him standing over a patient on the operating table as he replaces vital organs. The patient? None other than Alfred E. Neuman who is conscious and turns his head to the statues observers with his patented grin....the caption? "What-Me worry? I'm in the hands of a genius."
The teenage boy in me envisions a MAD magazine sceanrio where the statue of Dr. S has him standing over a patient on the operating table as he replaces vital organs. The patient? None other than Alfred E. Neuman who is conscious and turns his head to the statues observers with his patented grin....the caption? "What-Me worry? I'm in the hands of a genius."
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do you know if the entire area was done up like this?...the differing angle view from the "before" looks through the pillars towards Bruce Hall etc. . Was the paver deal done on the other side of those pillars also?Before:
After:
Yes, the pavers were placed on the entire quad.
I believe they may still install a new fountain as well. Not sure though.
I would have liked more green space, but it is certainly an improvement.
Agree on both counts. Not sure what went into the thinking there, but perhaps they wanted to have it as more of an outdoor place to set up things like those tents and other events and it may have been hard to do that with more actual vegetation. The amount of sunlight could have played into it. But I've previously hoped for something more like a pocket park/cloister.
I think you're right. If I remember right, I believe the plan is to remove the driveway/loading zone that currently runs in front of the Student Union in favor of making that whole corner of Bigelow and Fifth a nice grassy lawn area. Right now, a lot of student organizations set up their tents and tables along that driveway, so I’d bet the goal is to move them to the new quad area where there’s a whole lot more foot traffic with the dorms there.
I’m also pleased that they built a good-looking, permanent ramp connecting the quad and the Towers terrace. The old temporary ramp that was there previously was a real eyesore.
Yeah that ramp was temporary for like 20 years or so.
However, I'm not convinced that there will be more traffic through the quad than on the 5th side of the union. I think I would have used pavers there as a walkway and added more green to the quad rather than the other way around, but we'll have to see how it turns out.
What is refreshing is seeing Pitt being able to upgrade infrastructure in projects like these, like peer universities have done for decades, as opposed to forever trying to play catch up on delayed maintenance projects (like decades of Hillman Library's patio being closed).
@CrazyPaco Do you know how far along the university itself, not the athletic department, is with its facility master plan? I remember hearing the planning for that one coincided with the athletic plan. Was this renovation part of it?
No, not specifically. I think it is supposed to be released this fall or by the end of the year, and the athletic plan will be part of the overall Pitt master plan (although I don't know how they'll do the reveals, etc). These plans can be pretty fluid too. The last one changed quite a bit as opportunities arose and closed.
Like this??
The only place I ever tailgated where I had to watch where I stepped,
Exactly. There isn't enough green space in Oakland and this was a perfect opportunity IMHO.
I'm all for adding more green space, but I don't think that space is conducive to that - not a large plot, too much foot traffic, and not a lot of sunlight. Makes sense to have that area for tents/events IMO. In fact, I don't even like that green space in the middle - who is going to use that? Seems like it's just in the way to me. I love the permanent ramp though, it's truly amazing how long that "temporary" one lasted.
Agreed on the maintenance. The Hillman Library renovation looks like it's coming along (slowly, but that's the nature of it when you go floor-by-floor). And, on a personal note, I know a few years ago they renovated the Barco Building's patio area that had been closed for god knows how long, in what ended up being a very nice project, on top of the ~$10 million renovation they just wrapped up last year in the building's interior:
Agreed on the maintenance. The Hillman Library renovation looks like it's coming along (slowly, but that's the nature of it when you go floor-by-floor). And, on a personal note, I know a few years ago they renovated the Barco Building's patio area that had been closed for god knows how long, in what ended up being a very nice project, on top of the ~$10 million renovation they just wrapped up last year in the building's interior:
That is very nice. I hadn't seen that. That is more along the lines that I was expecting them to do in Schenley Quad, at least part of it. They really need to add these parklets to as many spaces as possible.
I absolutely love this and seriously contemplating buying a paver in my parent's name. They both love Pitt so much and my Dad taught at the Dental School for many years.Also, the new Heinz Chapel garden and fountain:
You can put your name on or dedicate pavers and benches around this garden: http://giveto.pitt.edu/node/1447
So many schools have this, but this is the first time Pitt has ever done it. I would imagine many who've been married there would also be interested. That would actually be an awesome wedding gift.
And for those that don't know, proceeds go toward an endowment for Heinz Chapel to pay for its perpetual upkeep.
http://giveto.pitt.edu/node/1447
They did allow memorial tree dedications and perhaps benches, but I don't know of anything around the cathedral or planned to be around the cathedral. I'd call about options, but I don't think they'd want to go crazy as too many names in pavers around there could diminish the Varsity Walk or the ODK walk.
Pitt historically hasn't had many options for dedicating things so I wouldn't wait on the Heinz Chapel ones if people are really interested.
I think they need to thin out the trees a bit on the Cathedral lawn. It's pretty much covered with a leaf canopy.
Maybe not just with pavers, I should have clarified. But some sort of upkeep aspect. I love the Cathedral and think it's Pittsburgh's greatest building.
It's a heck of a nice wedding gift that's for sure. Not cheap.
Not to sound morbid, but I actually think this would be a great memorial in leu of flowers for a funeral. Much like charitable donations.
I thought there was something already like this around the Cathedral or another Pitt property? Not talking about the pavers for sports achievements. Maybe I'm wrong.
Not that I can think of. Unless there is something new. I know several trees have dedications.
Really? I can see not adding more trees, but there is plenty of open lawn space, at least IMO. I don't think they need to thin them out.
This was, originally, also supposed to be largely filled in with other gothic buildings too. Clapp Hall was supposed to go on the north (right) open space. Frick Fine Arts was, in a more gothic version, was supposed to go on the southeast corner. A student union and/or gymnasium were to be placed along the Forbes Avenue side and a library was either to be place there or smack in the middle between the Cathedral an Heinz. The site would have had much smaller quads and not really lawns which students could play sports on.
Regardless, I do think you can probably dedicate benches and what not, but I don't know the details. I think they'd accommodate people that were interested.
Really? I can see not adding more trees, but there is plenty of open lawn space, at least IMO. I don't think they need to thin them out.
This was, originally, also supposed to be largely filled in with other gothic buildings too. Clapp Hall was supposed to go on the north (right) open space. Frick Fine Arts was, in a more gothic version, was supposed to go on the southeast corner. A student union and/or gymnasium were to be placed along the Forbes Avenue side and a library was either to be place there or smack in the middle between the Cathedral an Heinz. The site would have had much smaller quads and not really lawns which students could play sports on.
Regardless, I do think you can probably dedicate benches and what not, but I don't know the details. I think they'd accommodate people that were interested.
I do think the lawn facing the Student Union and the lawn facing Fifth Avenue could be thinned out a bit. Along 5th I think they could thin out too.
You can "thin" out the Student Union lawn by closing Bigelow Blvd and turning that into lawn.
You could do the same to 5th Ave actually. Anyone that has ever been to DC and see how they drop the roads under traffic circle parks realizes this could be done along 5th. And at one time, back in the 1950s, this was actually considered.
Imagine this mockup:
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You can "thin" out the Student Union lawn by closing Bigelow Blvd and turning that into lawn.
You could do the same to 5th Ave actually. Anyone that has ever been to DC and see how they drop the roads under traffic circle parks realizes this could be done along 5th. And at one time, back in the 1950s, this was actually considered.
Imagine this mockup:
Pretty confident Bigelow won't ever close to traffic.
Why?
It's nearly closed in the 90s except for a last minute intervention by Jim Ferlo using it as a political football.
It is an unnecessary road and has been whittled down since then with bike lanes and medians.
Many similar roads have been closed in urban campuses across the nation for the past 30 years.
Personalized vehicular traffic is becoming less prioritized in urban planning compared to pedestrian spaces and public transportation. Along the same lines, so to is the general public attitude shifting on this topic.
Its closure has been in Pitt's plans, of various designs, since the 50s and has been publicly acknowledged to be in Pitt's long range intentions by the current Mayor.
Pitt is in the best financial shape in its history, and hopefully will stay that way, and is clearly showing an interest in campus improvement projects beyond just attempting to provide adequate functional necessities.
Political posturing toward Pitt waxes and wanes, but it has been at a fairly good place recently. Community relations, with the neighborhood, are probably at a historically high since the 60s.
IMO, it's too obvious of an improvement, both for safety and aesthetics, not to be closed at some point. I just don't know if I'll be alive to see it.
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I would think with this mayor that it could happen, right? After all the infrastructure changes in the city for bike lanes, etc., this seems like a drop in the bucket. CLOSE THE STREET.
You can "thin" out the Student Union lawn by closing Bigelow Blvd and turning that into lawn.
You could do the same to 5th Ave actually. Anyone that has ever been to DC and see how they drop the roads under traffic circle parks realizes this could be done along 5th. And at one time, back in the 1950s, this was actually considered.
Imagine this mockup:
That would be AWESOME! Oh, and I should clarify that thinned out does not only mean just cutting down trees, rather pruning them up and removing some branches.
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