I figured you’d have thoughts, Paco!
Agreed on the music building - it’s an important structure and can be built around - in fact, given its history with Mister Rogers Neighborhood, a potential rename to “Rogers Hall” or something similar seems appropriate?
Agreed on the Pete lawn; I think you can do a lot to make it a better, more functional space, but I do think it should be preserved, especially if they’re planning on building another large dorm in that general area. I think I saw in earlier drafts that the repurposing of the lawn was really only if they decide to build a new natatorium there over Trees Hall - I hope cooler heads prevail and they decide to renovate/improve Trees Pool instead.
Don’t disagree at all on Hillman - the patio is definitely underused and should absolutely be brought down to street-level to activate the sidewalk and show off the library to pedestrians, and I think the *potential* is there to do something really nice in terms of a street-level atrium that activates both the street and Schenley Plaza much more than how it is now, as well as adding much-needed space to Hillman, which is constantly overcrowded in its current state. Just a matter of *how* it’s done.
That Posvar plaza is totally underused, though, especially with Schenley Plaza and the greater activation of the walkway between Hillman, Posvar and Barco, so I suspect it might be a little redundant. I do think you could do a little more to activate the back side of Barco with Hillman, the new center, the renovated residences, and Posvar, but because this project seems a ways off I’ll see how they proceed with it.
Totally agree on Gardner Steel and O’Hara. The facades should be preserved at minimum, but the two structures serve a functionally identical purpose and are redundant. They should, at minimum, be built on top of, and the facades preserved. I do like the ballroom, but to be honest there are more than a few of those on campus as it stands today.
