Cleveland State University - Scene Yearbook (Cleveland, OH)

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INTEGRATED ON,VERS.TV PUANT PUANN.NG By HERMANN H FIELD Director of Bulldlna I Cleveland Collefle. Cleveland, Ohio Field Federal Poly ' e ' 1940 he worked uropean country rltv planrlng- j i L. fa search a ' , ,., ,.,„.. a ' = Ne« York ,rsitv camouses v,vUlu INTEGRA ' sitsssj?ss,:»; EB8ITY PLANT PLANNINO c the ti c - d. i ' ' ' [fba ed on ' pnt products in ill enclosure we ooms ami . - ■ (jo.vns m 111 eu.----- , unaltered hana , logkal f ' ' ' - ' i nuate in relation to the teci ept, inadequate in equipmen J „e Abilities npt -«,.osort to these proi t « over-compli« tion a. ' ' Vetoencies, ereaUng o-.-...,. j .pace X,, i„ii, obnut what So« ' ., ,„,f „an do. with what the I The Cleveland College program is being closely watched— and not only locally; the entire educational and architectural eyes of the nation are focused upon it. For the object of the entire program— that of building a large single-plant adult educational institution in the heart of a ■ TTTducation at Harvard ' J , ' greot city-is novel. And some of the problems ..•wed hla cau ' During ■ , , .1 »■ . tVchnic institute at yj l ' „ , „ a. an archite. encountered Ore, therefore, new and of almost astronomical proportions. As Herman Field wrote in The American City magazine shortly before he disappeared, the planning for the new build- ing is in itself an interesting experiment in trying to achieve a truly contemporary solution to a niwsical plant problem without constructive precedent. and the p J-; . „ . Western Reserve University, therefore, has regarded the planning of its new plant as a pilot, though not an experimental, project . It realizes that the function of Cleveland College as an urban educational center poses a design problem of interest to urban universities through- out the country, if not throughout the world. Last year it was predicted by a group of architectural experts holding a conference in Cleveland that Cleveland College ' s new building would lead the way in this country for educational facilities for adult training. An important problem encountered in plan- ning the new building is the financial limitation and this has led to still another problem— that of coordinating the entire program so that it will be carried out with the utmost precision. Because of financial limitations, the new plant will be built in a series of three stages. In a decentralized campus layout this would be a minor matter. But in a single structure institution such as the future home of Cleveland College will be, this is an extremely complicated problem and it is made even more intricate by the necessity of integrating, at each stage of the new building, the presently owned and rented space. For Cleveland College will continue to operate as the new building emerges and hence the new building must be made adaptable to the stage- by-stage changes as well as to possible shrinkage of operations. Temporary assignment of space during transitional periods has to be considered. Another problem is that of coordinating the Cleveland College building with the two great, dissimilar open areas in downtown Cleveland— the Moll, Cleveland ' s dormant civic center, and the Public Square. As originally planned the Mall was to be a gateway into Cleveland ' s commercial center; a railroad station was to be built on the lakeside bluff on one end and the other end and two sides were to be lined with civic buildings. The eas t side and south end of the Mall have been completed in accordance ?!!?eiand College M with Original plans, providing such buildings as the Public Auditorium and the Main Library. But the erection of the Terminal Tower on the Public Square in the ' 30 ' s by the Van Sweringen brothers threw a wrench into the Mall gateway concept. It was thus abandoned and thus the lakeside end and Cleveland College side of the The standar o --gjy ' to be || j uncompleted. 1 fnv the correct vise o regard ' o ' [: materials, lights, msidating - t, all the rest of fj . ,y ded on ' Z

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the future?

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Consequently, the planners of the Cleveland College building (that is, the trustees, the admin- istration, the faculty, the architectural firm of Garfield, Harris, fobinson and Schafer and C. C. Building Plans cftice) have hod to consider, in planning the nev- building, the rigid monumental layout of an earlier period, as exemplified by the I ?ijr iL IlA—M a I . A College Building Progra With a City ' s Civic Cenl ' .od I„ €l,v,I„„d College p, on ine easi siae uno suuin eiiu. amiu yci luc mcvy building must be related to the Mall structures. Moreover, that is only half the problem— J; ' ' ' ! ' University, there is the Public Square which further compli- ent of alxjut 8,000 sm- cates things. For in keeping in mind the Mall, the ' ' , ' ' !f„ ' j h rS planners could not lose sight of the older Public L! Linwine; a wide pro- cates things. For in keeping in mmu mc i,,, ,,, ... - ' could not lose sight of the older Public foUo„ing nd the Mall, the the older Public f JoUo u. ■ ' , therefore, lies t continuing education. ■ ■ ■ verflows from its Main e entire proDiem nere, tnererore, lies t contmunig in the fact that, since it is envisaged that the new ' [j ' ' p biic ' ' sq College building will become a link, „id buildings ,w , j, ak, forming a transition between the nterlocking Mall and Square, Cleveland College ' s v icvciuiiu v.v iicy = •. uMu.,, ttMI OeCOme a imK, „ld buildings nevci ...- so to speak, forming a transition between the ' ' ' , ' ' j ' j | ' n ' i ' serveUn i- : i .i — l: — xA«ii «„J ;,-., i r Cleveland College ' s I ' ' „ , ,„v,„rhan campus. J wall ana oquare, ieveiunu uih3l structure will not only have to compare favorably with the newer, classical, monumental buildings on the Mall but also with the older buildings on „„ the Public Square. -flow blic Square i,;l,tin2s never Un Un „uburban campu . - function as °dult center, ties ' function as an it inti- Kublic square. Out of all this ' O picture of tlie new Cleveland College building has emerged. That the institu- tion must be a multiple-story, single-plant struc- ture is determined by certain conditions in the life of Cleveland College. The Downtown Center ' s •fiinrtirin nc nn iirknn nrimnrilv nrliilt r ant »r lull ccuit ' , ' ■• - ife and communications area. This necessi- a relatively high-cost fiber struc the life of ,.,. J ,. function as an urban, primarily adult, center ties it intimately with the transportation lines of the city. This necessitates construction in location easily accessible to the greatest numl of people, which means downtown in a compare tively high-cost area on a limited site wthout space for decentralization of a campus. This, in turn, inevitably leads to a multiple-story, single- plant institution. The completed plant will have a long nine- story section running along the Mall from Rock- well Avenue to St. Clair Avenue. A tower wJll arise five more floors over the southwest side of the building facing the Public Square and this rise to the level of the Society for Savings Built the Mall w tower will rise to rne levei or rne society tor Building. The new building ' s height along he Mall will be related to the existing Mall building height of 90 feet; the height of its tower section will be related to the buildings on the Square. In a way, too, the Public Square side of the building will be related to the Public Square and the Mall side to the Mall. All this prc.Tiises to be a task of stupendous proportions — the planning itself has taken three years. But it also promises to lead to a rewarding M result for Cleveland College and for Western M Reserve University not only because it will pro- | virlfa f l av a|nnH CnWf nf A ith tht r r»r»r»rtiinit to ; ; . ' Reserve University hot oniy oecause 11 v iii pro- land College with the opportunity to vide Cleve serve bu ie Cleveland Lollege with the opportunity to i ' , ' rSI rve its students better but also because the new B lA lilding will point the way for new plant plan- h | ng by other urban universities. BkI By HERMAIVN H. FIELD, A I A r, ° 0 Building Plan, ' ' Clevel„„,l College of WeZln Keserre Vnitersity i of ' .lhe American Sociely ? Officials who will vLwt or the National Planning at the Hotel Statler 12 will have an oppor- amine and inspect some ressive Cleveland plan- «■ of which the Cleve- Building Program, here ' utstanding example, of this article in the liversary Number of ' City derives special ™ the fact that Cleve- ' er plan was one of ear in this magazine. 912 issue of The contained two ilJus- ; the Group Plan Buildings of Cleve- ' Plan for Fountain lall, with Gardens, Trees and Reflect- as become neither ark, nor a recrea- pater of downtown value at present, investment in civic ' resents, is very I the foresight to open area in the ngestion. At the md its alert City are increasingly a way to trans- form lh,s partly stillborn project i a real community asset. A Mall G mmee has been appointed and, s, aneously, distinct possibilitie I arisen for completing ,h« build a ong ,he undeveloped west side of oh , ! ' ™ ' P™ ' ' « ' » ' ' ypi ? , ' °l ' °any civic-minded plans how to adjust a rigid monumental out of an earlier period to the buUdh and urban-planning concepts of tod and tomorrow. By todav ' s rl tho Mnif., , todays reasonm he uniform and peripheral enclosure , this open space along its four sid, as originally visualized appears „ b considerable limitations SrTy ' h heavy masses of the already comp lete wXlm e ' 7„d ' ' cT ' ' r ' ' ' ' - ' ™ents,aJerniireltfir;„-r:: ' owed ,n building on the west side a?L x=g ' r ' - --- ' fwh foth !t ' ' ' ' ' « ' ' ™ ». should h ' J ' ' en restrictions Should be exercised to relate new build hTMalfo: ' th r° ' ™ ' ' - ' fu.lrfneeds? ' ' ' ' ° ' -- ' - • Should the rigidity and dominant axial : d Z:;li ' t!tSn?i ' r7-? ' - er in ;:: - c:!:, control area whicl- ' ut l TZ -rotr ,r„f . ' .h-dbio : •- ' .erth on ' f-i ' rf--- - ' ■- ■= wiucn omer- Sepiemberm9 . THE AMERICAN CITY Square. The white line