MU Master Plan 2010
The University of Missouri is presenting its annual main campus master plan, a document that incorporates Chancellor Brady Deaton’s emphasis on sustainability, at a public forum March 18.
The total amount of construction projects awarded for 2010 is estimated to be $80 million on the main campus, compared with $110 million in 2009.
A highlight of the plan is the renovation of Switzler Hall, the oldest classroom building on campus and the second only to the Chancellor’s Residence in age, on the northwest corner of Francis Quadrangle. Switzler, formerly Scientific Hall/Agricultural Hall, was built in 1871 and now houses the communication department and special degree program.
The architect is Peckham and Wright Architects, a local firm known for its sustainability projects, and the contractor will be required to recycle metal, wood and other building materials along with packaging.
Another historic building being renovated is Tate Hall, which was built in 1927 and, similar to Switzler, is a four-story building on the original Red Campus. By making better use of space, the critical renovations of Tate and Switzler will increase the number of classroom seats by 270 and the number of faculty offices by 30.
The master plan document also says that in today’s economic climate, it makes better fiscal sense to meet current needs by repairing and renovating existing space. Other examples include the upcoming renovations of Pershing Commons and the MU Psychiatric Center, along with the second phase of the Brady Commons renovation.
“We’re fortunate to be able to make outdated buildings new again by addressing critical repairs while renovating spaces for today’s technologies and educational needs,” said Gary Ward, assistant vice chancellor for facilities.
The largest project, the seven-story University Hospital Patient Care Tower, will incorporate environmentally friendly building techniques so that it will be eligible for LEED certification.
Two of the more visible projects were the installation of new scoreboards at Memorial Stadium and the Walton Track/Soccer Stadium last fall that cost $5.3 million from athletic department funds and the construction of a new utility tunnel from the power plant to Maryland Avenue, a $22.2 million project expected to be finished in August.
MU hires new master planner
Perry Chapman has helped shape MU’s campus since 1998, when he replaced the university’s first master planner, Jack Robinson. In the past 12 years, the university’s land acquisitions have not grown considerably, but square footage has increased 28 percent.
In the decades to come, Chapman will be remembered most “for unifying the various sections of the campus through planned green space and defining MU’s sense of place,” Gary Ward, assistant vice chancellor for facilities said in the planning document.
In her 14 years at Sasaki, Eastley has worked on more than 50 college and university master plans. Eastley’s research focus has been sustainable stewardship. She is coming to MU a year after Deaton opened the Sustainability Office and began developing a plan to reduce the campus “carbon footprint” by such methods as making buildings more energy efficient and maintaining a compact campus through appropriate density.