{"id":91749,"date":"2014-04-14T09:14:32","date_gmt":"2014-04-14T13:14:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=91749"},"modified":"2015-10-12T11:54:08","modified_gmt":"2015-10-12T15:54:08","slug":"campus-master-plan-to-provide-blueprint-for-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2014\/04\/campus-master-plan-to-provide-blueprint-for-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Campus Master Plan to Provide Blueprint for Change"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"An<\/a>
An aerial view of the center of the Storrs campus. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The first glimpses of Master Plan 2014 were unveiled at a Town Hall session held on April 9 in the Student Union Theater in Storrs. Included in the presentation by Lisa Gould and Doug Voigt of the architectural, design, and engineering firm Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill<\/a> (SOM) was an outline of the process that will guide the University as it shapes the physical development of its flagship campus for the next 20 years.<\/p>\n

Gould, director and co-leader of SOM\u2019s Integrated Education, Science, and Health department, said the timeline, which began in January and will conclude by year\u2019s-end, includes four distinct phases, including an initial assessment period which is currently drawing to a close.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have spent the last several months talking to people, learning about UConn, and gaining an understanding of what\u2019s important to those who work and study here,\u201d Gould said, \u201cand we\u2019re ready to move into a nine-week alternative phase where we\u2019ll begin to look at real options for the future. Over the summer we\u2019ll develop and refine our vision, and then we\u2019ll come back in the fall with a draft of an overall master plan. At that point, we\u2019ll gather everyone\u2019s input, and a final plan will be in place by the end of the year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s important,\u201d she continued, \u201cis that we want to showcase this campus as an intellectual and cultural hub. We really want to improve the student and faculty experience, and that includes looking at everything from housing to recreation to transportation. It includes incorporating gathering places in the landscape, and making academic centers accessible. We need to provide the infrastructure to support growth in a sustainable way, keeping in mind that the campus has to \u2018work\u2019 during the entire time it is undergoing change.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fundamental question we are trying to answer is, \u2018How can we make this campus the place you want it to be?’ (Doug Voigt, director of urban design & planning, SOM)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

SOM, which has been involved in major projects<\/a> at institutions such as Yale, Stanford, the University of North Carolina, Harvard, and the California state university system, is committed to supporting the driving goals outlined in UConn\u2019s academic plan, which include:<\/p>\n