MU master plan updated
March 14, 2008
Perry Chapman of Sasaki Associates gives a presentation on the coming years' planned growth of the MU campus on Wednesday at Memorial Union. The presentation gave an intimate look into the infrastructure of MU's central campus and surrounding areas.
MU representatives and the school’s contracted planner gave a 25-year look at future campus development and needs in a forum Wednesday.
The planner, Perry Chapman of the Sasaki Associates firm, showed studies on MU’s growth capacity and plans for possible future growth. Chapman has worked on the MU master plan for 10 years, and according to the Sasaki Web site, he also worked on the University of South Florida’s master plan.
Chapman said MU’s master plan differs from most campuses because it’s updated every year to include new projects and confront new needs.
“It’s quite unique in the country,” he said. He said in most cases campuses make a master plan “that will then just sit on a shelf.”
He said he visits MU for two or three days each month to work on the master plan with Campus Facilities and the Campus Planning Committee. He said they also communicate weekly by phone.
He said a goal of the plan is to build strategically by defining future patterns of growth, avoiding sprawl and promoting more compact development.
Chapman said without upgrades, the capacity of MU’s power plant and steam delivery tunnels would limit core campus expansion as early as 2022. Based on land capacity, the central campus could grow by 5 million to 7 million square feet, but the power plant could only support 3 million to 4 million square feet of growth.
He said that with planning, an upgrade could sustain the plant’s capacity for another 15 to 20 years, and according to the Master Plan, the steam system would be upgraded in a project starting this summer.
The tunnels route steam from the power plant to campus buildings to provide heating.
As of this year, the planners have added new software to their toolbox that allows them to create three-dimensional models of the campus.
“This is quite exciting because this has applications of digital technology and 3-D representation that are important both in identifying future development, but also how to convey ideas of it to potential sources of funding,” Chapman said.
Earlier this month, the School of Music presented a concept animation of a new performing arts center that will be built on the northeast corner of University Avenue and Hitt Street. The school played the video during their annual Chancellor’s Concert in hopes of finding a donor to make a “significant gift” that would kick off fundraising for the news facility, School of Music Director Marvin Platt said in a previous report.
Chapman said one goal of the planning process is to keep related buildings together so students wouldn’t have to drive or walk to other parts of campus as frequently. Campus Planning Committee chairwoman Ruth Tofle said the plan aims to create “functional clusters” where similar facilities are grouped together.
“That’s why it’s important to have a master plan,” Tofle said. “You can imagine how bad it would be if it were haphazard.”
School of Health Professions Dean Richard Oliver asked Chapman about whether the plan has considered “green” buildings on campus.
“I think MU should certainly look at having buildings that are greener than we have right now,” he said.
He said MU should be a leader in environmentally friendly facilities, and that while it might cost more initially, the energy savings would be more worthwhile.
The forum was coordinated through Campus Facilities and the Campus Planning Committee.
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