Bill Gates Hall > goodbye Hoy Field?

They want it near Engineering and Ag, that doesn't leave too many options....

[www.cornellsun.com]

Wasn't it going to go underneath?

Underneath what? And why do we need more buildings? Can't we make some of them more space-efficient? (ahem, Duffield, the devil-horned, atria-filled building)

I vote for grass.

Jacob '06
Wasn't it going to go underneath?

Don't we have problems when we try to build underground (Campus Store, Kroch Library)?

jtwcornell91

Jacob '06
Wasn't it going to go underneath?

Don't we have problems when we try to build underground (Campus Store, Kroch Library)?

Not saying i'm an advocate, just saying that the rumor I heard was that the building would go under the baseball field.

By 2011, the entire campus will look like the surface of Trantor.

Whenever they build one structure they need to burn another one down.

Nice reference (Asimov's Foundation Trilogy, for those who didn't catch it.)

At least that T-shirt they gave Bill Gates during his 2004 visit paid off in the end. I was worried that we were kissing up to the guy for no reason.

Friends who have friends in Day Hall believe it's only a matter of time - a year, a decade, less than our lifetime - before Hoy Field bites the dust.

Cornell can build successfully going down when it's not too cheap to do the job right. The Campus Store was simply an honest or dumb mistake. Nobody thought to test for solid rock under the grass and - lo! - it was solid rock. (Is testing the soil something architects and civil engineers were supposed to do back around 1970 when this happened? Was this a known technology, driving a rod down into the ground and seeing how far it went? So many things to remember to do, and if you get one thing wrong, everybody's upset with you.)

So rather than pay extra to blast down and provide an unbroken sight line from Day Hall to Willard Straight Hall, Cornell let it sit five, ten, fifteen, something like that, feet above ground level. Maybe the figured the soil would settle over time.

billhoward
Friends who have friends in Day Hall believe it's only a matter of time - a year, a decade, less than our lifetime - before Hoy Field bites the dust.

Of course if it were a building, the fact that it's 84 years old and has hosted a legend like Lou Gehrig would be reason to keep it. But it's a field and open space is quanit and an enemy of modern Cornell. We need more research space. Grass be gone! Build over the parking lots by the Vet school. Put all the buldings used for research and not teaching out there. Don't make athletes bus to find a field. It will be a shame when cornell athletes have to make like columbia athletes and bus to practice everyday because the university thought they needed another giant research facility.

Nice thing about Princeton (which is half or a third Cornell's size) is how it integrates the athletic fields within walking distance of dorms and classrooms.

Surprised Cornell hasn't tried to expand more across the gorge into collegetown. It would screw up the CTown atmosphere somewhat but there aren't many architecturally signifiant rental apartments that would be lost.

billhoward
...
Surprised Cornell hasn't tried to expand more across the gorge into collegetown. It would screw up the CTown atmosphere somewhat but there aren't many architecturally signifiant rental apartments that would be lost.

I'm not surprised. The University doesn't own land in Collegetown beyond Sheldon Court, the performing arts center, and Cascadilla Hall, and it doesn't have the right of eminent domain to facilitate the acquisition of more land.

On the underground option -
1) The Campus Store just didn't have the budget to blast out enough rock. It wasn't news to anyone that the rock there. In contrast to the Campus Store, I think the Kroch Library addition was very successful. It is totally unobtrusive; most of its space doesn't need windows, in fact is better without; and the architect brought sun light into the central, habitable space very nicely.

2) But the Sun article talks about "a signature building." It seems to me highly unlikely that it will be underground.

I really hate to lose more open space. The campus feels more an more urban every time I turn around. Having the intramural fields (Upper Alumni) right around the corner from classes and relatively central to north, west, and south housing seemed to me a great benefit. There is still a little open land there, isn't there?

I wonder whether Barton Hall is considered expendable. It's certainly central. Rumors surface every now and then about its possible demise. In what shape are the ILR buildings along the west side of Garden Avenue? They don't strike me as architecturally significant. Maybe they could be replaced with a single, tall modern structure, making room for the Gates Center. Then there's all that land around the Andrew Dickeosn White House wasted on gardens.

I've wondered about Barton's expandability, too. You don't need that much space for ROTC drills, but it's important to have one big indoor gathering place for 7500-10,000 people a couple times a year. If the Rolling Stones Steel Wheelchairs Tour ever comes to Ithaca, that's where it would be.

Building Schoellkopf II as a 20,000-seater with a retractable dome would work.

Is the AD White House inviolate? Libe Slope? (Once, long ago, there wasn't even the museum there.)

Cornell doesn't have eminent domain in C-Town but it does have time on its side. Over two decades virtually every house and building on a block turns over, and if Cornell was patient, could amass enough land along the gorge for a building. Plus maybe a pedestrian bridge over the gorge?

Amazing how the second most rural of the Ivy Schools, after Dartmouth, is so land-locked.

billhoward
Cornell doesn't have eminent domain in C-Town but it does have time on its side. Over two decades virtually every house and building on a block turns over, and if Cornell was patient, could amass enough land along the gorge for a building.

This was Harvard's strategy in Brighton.

billhoward
I've wondered about Barton's expandability, too. You don't need that much space for ROTC drills, but it's important to have one big indoor gathering place for 7500-10,000 people a couple times a year. If the Rolling Stones Steel Wheelchairs Tour ever comes to Ithaca, that's where it would be.

1) Most concerts are in Barton (with the occasional one in Bailey when it's not under construction). It wouldn't take the Steel Wheelchairs tour to open it up.

2) It's a (recently resurfaced) indoor track, with nifty mini-zambonis. Where else are you going to put that? It's used daily by not only the track teams but also by hundreds of Cornell employees that throw on their sneakers and spend their lunch breaks walking and gossiping. Toss in the mini basketball courts inside the track, and you've also got a whole bunch of regular pick up games in addition to most of intramurals' winter sports and random dance group practices.

3) It's a great place to host major events like finals for every big class Cornell has, presidential inaugurations, indoor commencement exercises, freshman book project panels, Heps, non-dual wrestling meets, local track meets, giant Jewish dinners (Shabbat?), and, my personal favorite, NROTC's CU Invitational Drill Competition/Military Excellence Competition/Hoops Tournement. Okay, so there are approx. 3 people on this board that have heard of it, but we have teams from about 35 schools (roughly 1000 people?) that come to Cornell each November and compete in drill and physical fitness events. Go Navy

4) Cornell has long since paid off whatever Barton cost to build, it's pretty solidly built, so it doesn't require much repair, and there are like, 5 employees. Plus, the government owns and does much of the upkeep for two of the three interior buildings and (presumably) both towers, or at least the rooms therein.

All this is not to say that Barton won't eventually be torn down and replaced by a research building, just that it would be stupid to do so.

David Harding
Having the intramural fields (Upper Alumni) right around the corner from classes and relatively central to north, west, and south housing seemed to me a great benefit. There is still a little open land there, isn't there?

In what shape are the ILR buildings along the west side of Garden Avenue? They don't strike me as architecturally significant.

Yes, and under renovation.

Liz '05
my personal favorite, NROTC's CU Invitational Drill Competition/Military Excellence Competition/Hoops Tournement. Okay, so there are approx. 3 people on this board that have heard of it, but we have teams from about 35 schools (roughly 1000 people?) that come to Cornell each November and compete in drill and physical fitness events. Go Navy

I'm one of the 3! My sister's roommate was on Cornell's 4-person physical fitness team in '97 or so. IIRC, she was the only woman on any of the 35 teams. Not only did Cornell's team win the competition, but she placed first in two of the events (situps and pullups). Yikes.

Maybe they should consider replacing some of the older engineering buildings. Carpenter is a waste of land at two stories and the library is not too inviting (ever go into the basement stacks?)

The elevator is one of the world's underappreciated inventions.

For all the hate New York City engenders (by virtue of its existing), by going vertical rather than horizontal, it avoided the sprawl of Los Angeles. Perhaps Cornell would be a better place with a 9 story building, a 5 story building, and open land than 4 stories, 5 stories, and 5 stories with no open land. New York, unfortunately, went vertical and then gobbled up most land anyway ... soemthing Cornell might be tempted to do, too.

OK, Lynah fans do recall Otis and Carrier a couple times a game referring to penalties.









("We got the shaft."

billhoward
Perhaps Cornell would be a better place with a 9 story building, a 5 story building, and open land than 4 stories, 5 stories, and 5 stories with no open land. New York, unfortunately, went vertical and then gobbled up most land anyway ... soemthing Cornell might be tempted to do, too.

There are good places and bad places to put a tall building. Olin Library: bad idea. However, they could replace the entire back of the engineering quad (Upson, Kimball, Thurston) with taller buildings. I don't think that would mar the view of too many people and since the land isn't on the street it would not create a New York City feeling of claustrophobia. And it would be doing the art of architecture a huge favor.

Top of Libe Slope, worst place for tall buildings. But, yeah, back of the engineering quad would be an awesome place for tall (or tallish in the Ithaca context) buildings, especially if the first three levels are parking. (Cornell's biggest endangered species now. Anybody can grow a tree, given a couple decades, but those parking spaces in front of Lynah, they're lost forever.)

Tom Wolfe in his Bauhaus to Our House book that so annoyed architects, maybe because it made sense to normal people, points out the density is good in urban areas, up to a point. Even in Ithaca, there's going to be an urban flavor when you put 20,000 people in one square mile and most of them in perhaps a third of that area.

If that happens, I hope they install high-speed elevators. Nothing like living on the 10th floor of a dorm that uses hospital-speed elevators.

Does anyone remember the story in the Lunatic circa 1990 about how Uris Hall was going to be converted into a parking garage? Complete with an "artist's misconception" which included cars driving off a fourth-floor ramp into empty space?

Barton hall is (at least partially) a New York State building, making any renovations/demolitions/replacements complicated. And of course, replacing it would likely displace the band, so I'm against it.

Hoy Field?! I remember when Cornell destroyed the JV baseball field adjacent to Lynah the summer of my freshman year (1980). Can't say that I like to see ballfields go by the wayside.

Apparently not....?

[www.theithacajournal.com]

[q]Unlike the days of Gehrig, after the project is complete players will compete on artificial turf, which is expected to improve drainage.[/q]

Well, I guess artifical turf makes it more similar to a wrestling mat. So Andy must like the idea.

I'm glad that the field will survive as green space, but the artificial turf bothers me, too. That the orientation relative to the afternoon sun is, shall we say, non-standard. Traditionally you keep the sun out of the batter's eyes.

David Harding
I'm glad that the field will survive as green space...quote]

I would have liked to see a combined project that had a new hockey rink on one side & a new bookstore/cafe on the other side. With direct access from the parking garage, townies could leave their coats in the car and Lynah would really be a sea of red. Of course, I'm also foolish enough to think that Ithaca could attract a NYP team (currently in cities such as Batavia, Elmira, Oneonta) and that Cornell and the city could develop a nice little facility that both could use. However, I need a little

I don't think it's foolish at all to think Ithaca support an A or AA team. Lots of disposable income floating around, lots of 20-somethings to sell beer to. I'm pretty surprised Ithaca has not, in my memory, ever had a team.

Trotsky
I don't think it's foolish at all to think Ithaca support an A or AA team. Lots of disposable income floating around, lots of 20-somethings to sell beer to. I'm pretty surprised Ithaca has not, in my memory, ever had a team.

Ithaca has had a NYCBL team on and off, which played at IC.

Search for Ithaca on these pages:

[www.nycbl.com]
[www.logoserver.com]
[www.nefan.net]

DeltaOne81
Ithaca has had a NYCBL team on and off, which played at IC.

The Lakers played some games at Hoy Field as well. I went to see them several times...it must have been in 1996. The attendance numbered about 20, counting the scorekeeper.

Just looking through the rosters, I notice there are a couple CU players playing for Elmira this summer.

I guess Elmira joined the NYCBL this year after being "phased out" of the independent Can-Am League (from the Northeast League). After being a member of the PONY/NY-Penn Leauge for decades (Don Zimmer got married at Dunn Field), the franchise moved to Utica in the mid-90s (now is in Lowell, MA), leaving Elmira with an indie team. Just another casualty of the distasteful trend of moving low-level minor league teams to major-league urban/suburban areas. But that's a completely different soapbox.

Yeah, I'd prefer grass to turf as well, but I imagine they'll use field turf, which is so much better for athletes (and aesthetics as well in my opinion) tha the old turf. Additionally, other sports (namely sprint football and the marching band, among other activities and sports) use the outfield and I'm sure this will be much better for the multi-use demands.

The latest issue of Cornell Engineering has an article on proposed long term projects for the engineering quad. The cover of the magazine shows a model of the quad with exisiting buildings in beige, new buildings in purple, and significant alterations to existing buildings in yellow.

Gates Hall will NOT be on Hoy Field. The current plan is to wedge it in the back of the quad. It would be "L" shaped and form what looks like an enclosed courtyard with Upson and Grumman. Good thing Bill Gates is rich because I'd be annoyed if I coughed up $25 million and my namesake building wasn't visible from the road.

It looks like I am going to get my wish with the proposed demolition of Carpenter Hall. Mechanical, aerospace, civil, and environmental engineering would move into a new building on the site of Carpenter. Admissions, administration, and the library would move into a renovated Upson. Also expect a serious overhaul of Hollister. Unfortunately Kimball, Thurston, and Bard are spared. Expect an addition on the back. Goodbye parking lot?

Geez I only graduated three years ago and I'm not gonna recognize over half of the engieering quad in a few years.

Anyone interested in the future of the campus should take a look at this web page [www.masterplan.cornell.edu]

David Harding
http://www.masterplan.cornell.edu/

well, that url sounds nice and....sinister.

David Harding
Anyone interested in the future of the campus should take a look at this web page [www.masterplan.cornell.edu]

Those plans/proposals are pretty scary. One of the proposals has new engineering buildings on Hoy Field and the squash courts. It essentially creates a second engineering quad with the removal of Hoy Road. And you just can't like a Powerpoint slide titled "The Opportunity Areas: Alumni Fields and East Campus".

Olin Hall, Gannett, the campus store and even Day Hall are possible candidates for demolition and replacement. Considering the phase II workshop presentation is dated April 24-25, 2007 it strikes me as odd that I was recently solicited by the School of Chemical Engineering for funds to help pay for the upcoming addition to the building. The Master Plan is supposed to span the next 50 or so years but it's hard to get excited about giving money for a building you have a very good chance of outliving.

Campus Store could go tomorrow. It was one of Cornell's biggest flubs. It was supposed to be completely underground - not the grass covered bunker it became. But Cornell hit bedrock 10, 15 feet sooner than it expected and rather than pay extra to do it right, Cornell just let it ride up. In some decades there was a glass walled shaft (more like a courtyard) in the middle but that gave way for more selling space. The idea was that there'd be an unbroken field of view from Day Hall to the Straight.

Campus Store dates to about 1970, meaning a bunch of alumns are alive who saw it built, and the engineering qyad was (?) 10, 15 years earlier. Those colored panels below the windows are sort of carbon dating for 1960s architecture. Seems like all the alumns should be dead, who saw a building built, before the new one goes up. Maybe this is the Cornell version of a Beverly Hills teardown.

Putting artifical turf on Hoy Field is a good preemptive move to save it from being put out to pasture (bad mixed metaphor). More people will rely on Hoy, not just the baseball team, and it will be harder to get rid of. Cornell needs to see how nicely Princeton (much smaller school) builds new buildings yet manages to keep sports facilities close to campus. Or in the case of the football stadium, integrates some academic uses into the outer shell.

billhoward
Cornell needs to see how nicely Princeton (much smaller school) builds new buildings yet manages to keep sports facilities close to campus. Or in the case of the football stadium, integrates some academic uses into the outer shell.

That's a bit misleading. Princeton has a much smaller enrollment than Cornell (6,600 combined undergrad and grad vs. 19,500 combined) but almost as much land area to work with (600 acres vs. 745 acres). They've also got an endowment almost three times as large ($14.2B vs. $5.1B). So if you don't need facilities for as many students, and you have almost flexibility as far as where you put things, and you've got a lot more money to work with, it seems entirely reasonable that you could do a lot better job of making things centralized.

Just keep in mind that this is this year’s master plan. Master plans come and go.

I’ve been told that the reason Bradfield Hall is so oddly sited with no entrance onto Tower Road is because the master plan at the time called for building a connecting road from Tower Road to Forest Home Drive so Bradfield would have been on the corner.

nyc94
It looks like I am going to get my wish with the proposed demolition of Carpenter Hall. Mechanical, aerospace, civil, and environmental engineering would move into a new building on the site of Carpenter. Admissions, administration, and the library would move into a renovated Upson. Also expect a serious overhaul of Hollister. Unfortunately Kimball, Thurston, and Bard are spared. Expect an addition on the back. Goodbye parking lot?

Oooh, then maybe Upson will have more than one women's bathroom. Not that I particularly minded getting to leave math class for excessive amounts of time, but it was annoying when I was on crutches.

Oh come on. It had at least two...

KeithK
Oh come on. It had at least two...

Stop stalking the ladies, Keith.

Liz '05
Oooh, then maybe Upson will have more than one women's bathroom. Not that I particularly minded getting to leave math class for excessive amounts of time, but it was annoying when I was on crutches.

But really, what about Cornell is not annoying when you're on crutches? (Other than history majors who let you lean on their shoulders as you walk them to the library )

jtwcornell91

Liz '05
Oooh, then maybe Upson will have more than one women's bathroom. Not that I particularly minded getting to leave math class for excessive amounts of time, but it was annoying when I was on crutches.

But really, what about Cornell is not annoying when you're on crutches? (Other than history majors who let you lean on their shoulders as you walk them to the library )

Excellent point. For instance, the office that gives out handicapped passes is on the third floor of a building that requires walking up stairs to get to the elevator (or, alternatively, walking around to the opposite side of the building from its parking spaces).

rstott
Just keep in mind that this is this year’s master plan. Master plans come and go.

I’ve been told that the reason Bradfield Hall is so oddly sited with no entrance onto Tower Road is because the master plan at the time called for building a connecting road from Tower Road to Forest Home Drive so Bradfield would have been on the corner.

[www.news.cornell.edu]

Cornell Chronicle
CMP will provide a context for physical changes on campus over the next 25-plus years. The plan is intended to realize the university's research, teaching and outreach missions and its residential, recreational and administrative priorities. The input from the open houses will help to further refine the draft plan over the fall and winter.

"Frankly, you don't want to be reinventing this every 10 years as you go along," said Dark. "People who do that run into a lot of difficulty in the long term. I give Cornell a lot of credit for trying to think this far ahead."

---

About the CMP:
For all you need to know about the CMP, visit [masterplan.cornell.edu]. The online site describes the purpose of the plan, the planning process, background on the Toronto-based consultant team, related planning initiatives on campus, as well as news and upcoming events.

Ben Rocky '04
They want it near Engineering and Ag, that doesn't leave too many options....

[www.cornellsun.com]

Goodbye Hoy Field parking lot.
The Cornell Chronicle reports that William H. Gates Hall will be built on the site of the current Hoy North parking lot across from Barton Hall. Ithaca Journal doesn't add much. Pritzker Award winning architect Thom Mayne. As noted in the earlier posts, it's for CIS to enhance collaborative efforts. To help you visualize the site, check the Google Maps satellite view.

David Harding

Ben Rocky '04
They want it near Engineering and Ag, that doesn't leave too many options....

[www.cornellsun.com]

Goodbye Hoy Field parking lot.
The Cornell Chronicle reports that William H. Gates Hall will be built on the site of the current Hoy North parking lot across from Barton Hall. Ithaca Journal doesn't add much. Pritzker Award winning architect Thom Mayne. As noted in the earlier posts, it's for CIS to enhance collaborative efforts. To help you visualize the site, check the Google Maps satellite view.

Does that mean goodbye racquetball courts?

not yet but the design isnt done who knows. doesnt even really mean no parking lot as they added back parking when Martha van was rebuilt. in a year when they actually start building things will become clear.

when hoy field goes maybe we get back lots of parking right next to the garage..

It's a horrible space for an additional building - not enough parking space and a bit removed from the Eng Quad. They could have spent the money rebuilding the Eng Library or renovating Olin Hall (Chem Eng) and then renamed it after Gates if he wanted to. I don't see how we need more space considering Duffield was just built and more Engs stay in their rooms anyways.

ajh258
It's a horrible space for an additional building - not enough parking space and a bit removed from the Eng Quad. They could have spent the money rebuilding the Eng Library or renovating Olin Hall (Chem Eng) and then renamed it after Gates if he wanted to. I don't see how we need more space considering Duffield was just built and more Engs stay in their rooms anyways.

Considering that the new building is intended for CS and the new Information Science Dept. I doubt it was as simple as Gates saying "here's some money - do something with it".

From the few baseball games I saw, it seemed foul balls frequently landed in that parking lot. Any word on whether Gates has offered to fund a baseball-repellent forcefield around the building as well?

As the Cornell Master Plan indicated, moving Hoy Field is a matter of when, not if.

ajh258
It's a horrible space for an additional building - not enough parking space and a bit removed from the Eng Quad. They could have spent the money rebuilding the Eng Library or renovating Olin Hall (Chem Eng) and then renamed it after Gates if he wanted to. I don't see how we need more space considering Duffield was just built and more Engs stay in their rooms anyways.

If they weren't renovating Olin, what were they doing when they closed the entire 2nd floor and the ChemE lounge in the basement for my entire senior year

ajh258
It's a horrible space for an additional building - not enough parking space and a bit removed from the Eng Quad. They could have spent the money rebuilding the Eng Library or renovating Olin Hall (Chem Eng) and then renamed it after Gates if he wanted to. I don't see how we need more space considering Duffield was just built and more Engs stay in their rooms anyways.

Right, because the only people who use these buildings are undergraduates.

ajh258
It's a horrible space for an additional building - not enough parking space and a bit removed from the Eng Quad. They could have spent the money rebuilding the Eng Library or renovating Olin Hall (Chem Eng) and then renamed it after Gates if he wanted to. I don't see how we need more space considering Duffield was just built and more Engs stay in their rooms anyways.

All I can say is when I was an engineering undergrad, our study groups tended to be at my apartment.

For practical reasons, of course. We had HBO and were only a few yards from Dunbar's.

semsox

ajh258
It's a horrible space for an additional building - not enough parking space and a bit removed from the Eng Quad. They could have spent the money rebuilding the Eng Library or renovating Olin Hall (Chem Eng) and then renamed it after Gates if he wanted to. I don't see how we need more space considering Duffield was just built and more Engs stay in their rooms anyways.

If they weren't renovating Olin, what were they doing when they closed the entire 2nd floor and the ChemE lounge in the basement for my entire senior year

They've been "renovating" Olin for a while now... Honestly, they are only replacing old walls with new ones and consolidating small rooms. The huge hallways are a big waste of space - nothing is being done with it.

I'm not sure when Olin hall was built (if I remember correctly, it's the late 60s) but definitely could use a bigger facelift. In any case, that area is prime real estate and should be utilized more. It's right across from the Eng Library - which a lot of ECEs hang out because they need the computer labs.

Olin Hall opened in 1942. I believe the renovations also included new windows and replacement of HVAC system.

The Eng quad is growing so fast relative to the rest of the campus that perhaps they'd consider relocating the whole thing? To, say, Troy?

The Cornell Sun has a little more background on the architect, Thom Mayne.

Starchitect, Starchitect, what are they feeding you?

The San Francisco Federal Building.

Looking forward to another ugly, misshapen box that will be hailed as "revolutionary." You know what would be revolutionary? A quality building made of quality materials that is intended to make life easy for the humans that use it rather than as some intellectual, "artistic" enterprise.

Scersk '97
You know what would be revolutionary? A quality building made of quality materials that is intended to make life easy for the humans that use it rather than as some intellectual, "artistic" enterprise.

I'll bet you also want music and art that has an emotional and meaningful impact on normal humans, as opposed to masturbatory or meta-ironic toys for snotty cognoscenti?

Trotsky

Scersk '97
You know what would be revolutionary? A quality building made of quality materials that is intended to make life easy for the humans that use it rather than as some intellectual, "artistic" enterprise.

I'll bet you also want music and art that has an emotional and meaningful impact on normal humans, as opposed to masturbatory or meta-ironic toys for snotty cognoscenti?

And we have a winner in the 24¢ word contest!

Ithaca Journal has a story on campus construction featuring a preliminary rendering of Gates Hall. A somewhat jarring gateway to campus.

David Harding
Ithaca Journal has a story on campus construction featuring a preliminary rendering of Gates Hall. A somewhat jarring gateway to campus.

Can you say "Hammerhead Hall?"

David Harding
Ithaca Journal has a story on campus construction featuring a preliminary rendering of Gates Hall. A somewhat jarring gateway to campus.

So assuming Hoy Field stays, it would be off to the right from that angle.

Ben

David Harding
Ithaca Journal has a story on campus construction featuring a preliminary rendering of Gates Hall. A somewhat jarring gateway to campus.

So assuming Hoy Field stays, it would be off to the right from that angle.

Yes, there is plenty of room for the building in the little parking lot at the corner.

David Harding

Ben

David Harding
Ithaca Journal has a story on campus construction featuring a preliminary rendering of Gates Hall. A somewhat jarring gateway to campus.

So assuming Hoy Field stays, it would be off to the right from that angle.

Yes, there is plenty of room for the building in the little parking lot at the corner.

Looking at the plans for that area, if the Gates building is only along Campus Road (and doesn't include the other planned buildings where Hoy now sits), then the Field would survive this phase of development.

Hoy field has a shelf life that I am not sure has been published yet but is not far off. It is the prime spot left on campus

David Harding
Ithaca Journal has a story on campus construction featuring a preliminary rendering of Gates Hall. A somewhat jarring gateway to campus.

Will that be a gateway to campus in a decade or so? I think one version of the Master Plan envisions Hoy Road being eliminated. Looking back at a post I made in this thread back in 2007 there had been a plan at one time to put Gates Hall in the back of the quad attached to Upson. Upson would have been renovated and assumed many of the functions Carpenter currently serves paving the way for Carpenter's demolition. I kind of wish they had gone through with that idea.

nyc94

David Harding
Ithaca Journal has a story on campus construction featuring a preliminary rendering of Gates Hall. A somewhat jarring gateway to campus.

Will that be a gateway to campus in a decade or so? I think one version of the Master Plan envisions Hoy Road being eliminated. Looking back at a post I made in this thread back in 2007 there had been a plan at one time to put Gates Hall in the back of the quad attached to Upson. Upson would have been renovated and assumed many of the functions Carpenter currently serves paving the way for Carpenter's demolition. I kind of wish they had gone through with that idea.

Looking at The Master Plan™, Hoy Road will survive, although Rhodes will not be replaced when its lifespan is up.

To retread some ground that others discussed in this thread (much of it before my time on here -- or on the hill), I like a lot of what's in The Master Plan™: there's a lot of surface parking lot removal (which is fantastic) and re-opening of green space. I'll be sad to see Hoy go when it finally does, and the same with Berman. The East Center part of the project is far too urban for my liking, and gives the sense that the university will no longer focus on educating undergraduates. Most perplexing, though, is the designation of Uris and Bradfield -- the two ugliest prominent buildings on campus -- as "buildings with architectural merit."

Ben
Looking at The Master Plan™, Hoy Road will survive, although Rhodes will not be replaced when its lifespan is up.

I thought the road was being eliminated so I'm very wrong. In looking at the plan for the first time in a while it looks like Hoy Road is being moved to line up with Garden Ave. It would thread between the parking garage on one side and Gates Hall and a second building on the field on the other. Maybe there is an updated plan but this is what I just looked at: [www.masterplan.cornell.edu]

Ben
Most perplexing, though, is the designation of Uris and Bradfield -- the two ugliest prominent buildings on campus -- as "buildings with architectural merit."

How much more awesome does Goldwin Smith look when you see Uris if you turn your head the other way?

nyc94

Ben
Looking at The Master Plan™, Hoy Road will survive, although Rhodes will not be replaced when its lifespan is up.

I thought the road was being eliminated so I'm very wrong. In looking at the plan for the first time in a while it looks like Hoy Road is being moved to line up with Garden Ave. It would thread between the parking garage on one side and Gates Hall and a second building on the field on the other. Maybe there is an updated plan but this is what I just looked at: [www.masterplan.cornell.edu]

I was looking at the part for Zone 3 (Hoy Green)...and we're both partly right. It looks like the final development extends Garden Avenue to Hoy Road, which will eventually be split next to the open space between the north edge of Rhodes and the south end of Phillips in order to create an open green between Upson/Phillips and the building that will go up along Hoy Field's third base line.

nyc94

Ben
Looking at The Master Plan™, Hoy Road will survive, although Rhodes will not be replaced when its lifespan is up.

I thought the road was being eliminated so I'm very wrong. In looking at the plan for the first time in a while it looks like Hoy Road is being moved to line up with Garden Ave. It would thread between the parking garage on one side and Gates Hall and a second building on the field on the other. Maybe there is an updated plan but this is what I just looked at: [www.masterplan.cornell.edu]

Maybe I missed something - is Day Hall being redeveloped or considered for redevelopment? I notice on the third page of the linked PDF that it's shown in the colors indicating "potential building footprint" rather than any of the colors indicating the various types of existing buildings.

Josh '99

nyc94

Ben
Looking at The Master Plan™, Hoy Road will survive, although Rhodes will not be replaced when its lifespan is up.

I thought the road was being eliminated so I'm very wrong. In looking at the plan for the first time in a while it looks like Hoy Road is being moved to line up with Garden Ave. It would thread between the parking garage on one side and Gates Hall and a second building on the field on the other. Maybe there is an updated plan but this is what I just looked at: [www.masterplan.cornell.edu]

Maybe I missed something - is Day Hall being redeveloped or considered for redevelopment? I notice on the third page of the linked PDF that it's shown in the colors indicating "potential building footprint" rather than any of the colors indicating the various types of existing buildings.

If you go to the plan for Zone 2 (West Central), it says that Day Hall is going to be replaced.

Ben
Most perplexing, though, is the designation of Uris and Bradfield -- the two ugliest prominent buildings on campus -- as "buildings with architectural merit."

First of all, the Johnson Art Museum is still the ugliest building on campus.

But I kinda like Bradfield. It's so bizarre and out of place that it's more of a joke than an insult like Uris.

Trotsky

Ben
Most perplexing, though, is the designation of Uris and Bradfield -- the two ugliest prominent buildings on campus -- as "buildings with architectural merit."

First of all, the Johnson Art Museum is still the ugliest building on campus.

But I kinda like Bradfield. It's so bizarre and out of place that it's more of a joke than an insult like Uris.

The Johnson Museum is pushed far enough off to the side of the slope that I can block it out of my mind. Uris is ALWAYS THERE. And Bradfield is prominent as well. Some of the Engineering buildings and everything between Baker and MVR is pretty ugly, but those aren't in the thick of things.

Ben

nyc94

Ben
Looking at The Master Plan™, Hoy Road will survive, although Rhodes will not be replaced when its lifespan is up.

I thought the road was being eliminated so I'm very wrong. In looking at the plan for the first time in a while it looks like Hoy Road is being moved to line up with Garden Ave. It would thread between the parking garage on one side and Gates Hall and a second building on the field on the other. Maybe there is an updated plan but this is what I just looked at: [www.masterplan.cornell.edu]

I was looking at the part for Zone 3 (Hoy Green)...and we're both partly right. It looks like the final development extends Garden Avenue to Hoy Road, which will eventually be split next to the open space between the north edge of Rhodes and the south end of Phillips in order to create an open green between Upson/Phillips and the building that will go up along Hoy Field's third base line.

It's like they are creating a secondary engineering quad but one side of it is going to be the backside of existing buildings - Philips and Upson - including their charming loading docks and industrial gas tanks. They leave enough of the north end of Hoy Road intact to allow access to Philips. And that's what Gates Hall will front on, not the newly moved Hoy Road. I never felt like that area was much of a "gateway" to the campus before but now it's going to being running alongside the parking garage.

And to go off on a rant, if they are thinking long term I would have thought eventually they would design and build something that exceeds their immediate space requirements so they could shuffle departments and start demolition of the truly obsolete buildings like Carpenter. If and when Carpenter and Hollister come down I hope the replacement does the location justice.

nyc94
I never felt like that area was much of a "gateway" to the campus before but now it's going to being running alongside the parking garage.

Do you mean figuratively or literally? Figuratively speaking, it's not a "wow, I'm entering campus, this is impressive" gateway, but literally speaking, and speaking for myself, since I'm generally coming from the NYC area that's almost always the way I do enter campus, so literally speaking it is a gateway for me and, I would guess, a lot of alumni.

Ben

Josh '99

nyc94

Ben
Looking at The Master Plan™, Hoy Road will survive, although Rhodes will not be replaced when its lifespan is up.

I thought the road was being eliminated so I'm very wrong. In looking at the plan for the first time in a while it looks like Hoy Road is being moved to line up with Garden Ave. It would thread between the parking garage on one side and Gates Hall and a second building on the field on the other. Maybe there is an updated plan but this is what I just looked at: [www.masterplan.cornell.edu]

Maybe I missed something - is Day Hall being redeveloped or considered for redevelopment? I notice on the third page of the linked PDF that it's shown in the colors indicating "potential building footprint" rather than any of the colors indicating the various types of existing buildings.

If you go to the plan for Zone 2 (West Central), it says that Day Hall is going to be replaced.

Thanks - it's really a fascinating read to page through the Master Plan and see where things might be headed long term.

Josh '99

nyc94
I never felt like that area was much of a "gateway" to the campus before but now it's going to being running alongside the parking garage.

Do you mean figuratively or literally? Figuratively speaking, it's not a "wow, I'm entering campus, this is impressive" gateway, but literally speaking, and speaking for myself, since I'm generally coming from the NYC area that's almost always the way I do enter campus, so literally speaking it is a gateway for me and, I would guess, a lot of alumni.

It is for me, too. But I kind of think of Bradfield as my landmark. When I see that, I know I'm "home"

Josh '99

Ben
Most perplexing, though, is the designation of Uris and Bradfield -- the two ugliest prominent buildings on campus -- as "buildings with architectural merit."

How much more awesome does Goldwin Smith look when you see Uris if you turn your head the other way?

Uris and Bradfield have immense architectural merit. As object lessons.

Jeff Hopkins '82

Josh '99

nyc94
I never felt like that area was much of a "gateway" to the campus before but now it's going to being running alongside the parking garage.

Do you mean figuratively or literally? Figuratively speaking, it's not a "wow, I'm entering campus, this is impressive" gateway, but literally speaking, and speaking for myself, since I'm generally coming from the NYC area that's almost always the way I do enter campus, so literally speaking it is a gateway for me and, I would guess, a lot of alumni.

It is for me, too. But I kind of think of Bradfield as my landmark. When I see that, I know I'm "home"

"When I see that, I know I'm not homely. In comparison."

Josh '99

nyc94
I never felt like that area was much of a "gateway" to the campus before but now it's going to being running alongside the parking garage.

Do you mean figuratively or literally? Figuratively speaking, it's not a "wow, I'm entering campus, this is impressive" gateway, but literally speaking, and speaking for myself, since I'm generally coming from the NYC area that's almost always the way I do enter campus, so literally speaking it is a gateway for me and, I would guess, a lot of alumni.

I meant it figuratively. I'm sure it gets lots of use although not by me.

Ben Rocky '04
They want it near Engineering and Ag, that doesn't leave too many options....

[www.cornellsun.com]

Cornell Chronicle reports on the opening of Gates Hall. Nice view of Hoy Field through the windows.

David Harding

Ben Rocky '04
They want it near Engineering and Ag, that doesn't leave too many options....

[www.cornellsun.com]

Cornell Chronicle reports on the opening of Gates Hall. Nice view of Hoy Field through the windows.

Bill Gates to attend dedication October 1. [www.news.cornell.edu]

Is this the building that does in Hoy Field? [news.cornell.edu] Another CIS building housing the new Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science. You might expect the new building to be close to Gates Hall.. Assuming that they don't tear down anything to make space, there aren't many options. The announcement of the new Atkinson Center [news.cornell.edu] makes its location clear, but I don't see a hint in the story about Bowers.

David Harding
Is this the building that does in Hoy Field? [news.cornell.edu] Another CIS building housing the new Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science. You might expect the new building to be close to Gates Hall.. Assuming that they don't tear down anything to make space, there aren't many options. The announcement of the new Atkinson Center [news.cornell.edu] makes its location clear, but I don't see a hint in the story about Bowers.

Or possibly the tennis courts between Hoy Road and Cascadilla Creek, just southeast of Rhodes Hall? I assume intercollegiate tennis now all takes place at Reis Center and additional courts could be located on North Campus.

George64

David Harding
Is this the building that does in Hoy Field? [news.cornell.edu] Another CIS building housing the new Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science. You might expect the new building to be close to Gates Hall.. Assuming that they don't tear down anything to make space, there aren't many options. The announcement of the new Atkinson Center [news.cornell.edu] makes its location clear, but I don't see a hint in the story about Bowers.

Or possibly the tennis courts between Hoy Road and Cascadilla Creek, just southeast of Rhodes Hall? I assume intercollegiate tennis now all takes place at Reis Center and additional courts could be located on North Campus.

Rhodes Hall was hard enough to build overlooking the gorge that I am very skeptical on the tennis courts site down so close to the creek. The Master Plan says turn Hoy Field into Hoy Quad with a couple of buildings.

Say goodbye to the Hoy Field as you know it. They are moving the baseball field out to the Game Farm complex in the near future. It's the next step in the 2015 master plan . There will be two new CIS buildings put up on the current Hoy Field site, the first building to go up will be attached to Gates Hall. The 2nd building will go up a year or so after the first one is complete.

[fcs.cornell.edu]

yup.. still waiting to see how that plays out.. the plan is already over 15 yrs old since it was created.

I'm glad Gates gave us the money. But why did Gates give us the money?

Trotsky
I'm glad Gates gave us the money. But why did Gates give us the money?

"The foundation, best known for its work in global health, also supports a variety of initiatives in education and access to digital information. Its interest in Cornell's program began when foundation co-chair and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates accepted former President Jeffrey Lehman's invitation to visit Cornell in February 2004. Gates' visit became part of a tour of six university campuses to bring attention to what he called a vital national need to ensure a pool of highly educated computer professionals.

"In an address to a packed audience of students and faculty at Cornell, Gates emphasized the need to improve the human-computer interface, enhance information security and develop methods for handling the massive databases of scientific information being generated in fields ranging from biology to the social sciences, all areas in which Cornell is conducting significant research. He also met with faculty and learned for the first time about CIS, which was created to extend computing education across the entire campus.

"This interdisciplinary approach has begun to reverse the decline in computing and information sciences enrollments and has attracted a more diverse group of students."

I... guess?

If I was interested in increasing diversity in CS enrollments I don't think Cornell would be among my targets. I suppose we will now admit applicants from Shandong and Pearl River.

Trotsky
I... guess?

If I was interested in increasing diversity in CS enrollments I don't think Cornell would be among my targets. I suppose we will now admit applicants from Shandong and Pearl River.

Well, they can't all be from Shanghai and Beijing, can they?

Jeff Hopkins '82

Trotsky
I... guess?

If I was interested in increasing diversity in CS enrollments I don't think Cornell would be among my targets. I suppose we will now admit applicants from Shandong and Pearl River.

Well, they can't all be from Shanghai and Beijing, can they?

Seoul says hi.

Trotsky

Jeff Hopkins '82

Trotsky
I... guess?

If I was interested in increasing diversity in CS enrollments I don't think Cornell would be among my targets. I suppose we will now admit applicants from Shandong and Pearl River.

Well, they can't all be from Shanghai and Beijing, can they?

Seoul says hi.

Listen, in 2019 the incoming class in Engineering was 51% female. This is an incredible accomplishment. Unlike some people, I'm not subscribing to ethnic stereotypes. But frankly I don't give a shit where students come from to achieve diversity, if they also help achieve things like gender equity, less systemic racism, etc.

Swampy

Trotsky

Jeff Hopkins '82

Trotsky
I... guess?

If I was interested in increasing diversity in CS enrollments I don't think Cornell would be among my targets. I suppose we will now admit applicants from Shandong and Pearl River.

Well, they can't all be from Shanghai and Beijing, can they?

Seoul says hi.

Listen, in 2019 the incoming class in Engineering was 51% female. This is an incredible accomplishment. Unlike some people, I'm not subscribing to ethnic stereotypes. But frankly I don't give a shit where students come from to achieve diversity, if they also help achieve things like gender equity, less systemic racism, etc.

In sharp contrast with my engineering class, where she was the entire female contingent: [www.theatlantic.com]

Al DeFlorio

Swampy

Trotsky

Jeff Hopkins '82

Trotsky
I... guess?

If I was interested in increasing diversity in CS enrollments I don't think Cornell would be among my targets. I suppose we will now admit applicants from Shandong and Pearl River.

Well, they can't all be from Shanghai and Beijing, can they?

Seoul says hi.

Listen, in 2019 the incoming class in Engineering was 51% female. This is an incredible accomplishment. Unlike some people, I'm not subscribing to ethnic stereotypes. But frankly I don't give a shit where students come from to achieve diversity, if they also help achieve things like gender equity, less systemic racism, etc.

In sharp contrast with my engineering class, where she was the entire female contingent: [www.theatlantic.com]

Feels like maybe the bar was a little too high if she's the only woman who cleared it.