New humanities building

The Cornell Chronicle reports that President Skorton announced yesterday the construction of a new building dedicated to the humanities. It will fill in all the space between Goldwin Smith Hall and East Avenue, across from Rockefeller Hall. Looking at the current configuration and the renderings in the Cornell Chronicle article, I can see how they might be able to get the quoted additional square footage for offices into the space while leaving the huge atrium, but the 350-seat lecture hall puzzles me. For scale, in Goldwin Smith we now have Hollis E Cornell at 208 seats, Lecture Room D at 186, and Kaufman Auditorium at 150.

First new humanities building since Goldwin Smith in 1905. Lots of glass, but LEED platinum. Invisible from the Arts Quad. 3/4 of the $61M price tag has already been raised, with the rest expected in the next three months.

Hmmm - I guess it's easier to raise funds if you say you're building an amazing new Humanities building rather than saying that you're scabbing an ugly modern addition onto the back of a classic...

Robb
Hmmm - I guess it's easier to raise funds if you say you're building an amazing new Humanities building rather than saying that you're scabbing an ugly modern addition onto the back of a classic...

You mean the Greek temple with the bungalow roof? Goldwin Smith was never the most attractive building on that quad: I'd give that honor to Lincoln, or maybe Tjaden. Certainly Boardman when it still existed.

And frankly, this should not surprise anyone. The Cornell trustees and administrations long ago gave up any pretense of classical beauty: I think once the elms died, they consciously decided to go the city-on-a-hill route rather than try to recapture the buildings-nestled-in-a-forest feel. If I cared enough anymore, I could list several dozen terrible things that have happened to that campus in the last 50 years. If I cared. Unfortunately, it's a lost cause and I choose not to fight battles that have already been lost.

Sigh.

Such an amazing illustration, and such a change from the current look and feel of Goldwin Smith, when I saw this in the Sun, I checked to see if this might be a spoof. Nope, the real thing. Unlike the spoof that had a parking garage going under the Arts Quad. Personally, I liked that idea, too. And the trees would have grown back by now.

Maybe we can put all of campus under a roof - even Schoellkopf? - and winter will be less of an issue. This is a good start.

At the cost of being contrarian, I kinda like it. There's just a big hole there right now, and this would add a lot of space on central campus without affecting the Arts Quad.