Bye Bye Saddlemire

[BGDrew]

I've been searching for some concept drawings of the new building, but I've yet to see anything. Have they even been released?

[Peregrinner]

After looking over the article and a map of campus, I really don't like the idea of where they want to place the new SSB. I don't like the idea of having any area of campus with THAT many buildings packed so close to each other.

I don't think I'm alone when I say that the nice open area outside of University hall is one of my favorite areas on campus. Why not try to spread things out a bit and keep some open space?

I know it's not going to be quite this bad, but when I read that the new building is going to built at or around Lot G, I get a sort of claustrophobic feeling. Hopefully it is designed in such a way that doesn't make that area feel too overbearing.

[sgtrock]

My fondest memories of Saddlemire are drinking 3.2 and the good stuff while local bands, townies and college bands, played. We would just sit on the steps and "party". The good ole' days when we partied on campus! Oh! the keggers in frat row... Ok so I was on the 5 +++ plan, bit I wouldn't trade it for the world. Any one remember the Hot Mud Family??

[cbjhack]

A new SSB by the commons would be a mistake, just like having East Hall. East was to replace South. South is still standing. I have never been in Olscamp, but placing it where the great Browns teams of the Paul Brown era practiced during training camp took away of piece of history.

I lived in the Sig Ep house for 2.5 years and enjoyed the open space. My brother lived in the house during the construction of East and hated the morning wake-up call from the construction workers. Centrex should have been blown up years ago and East should have been sighted there. It served no purpose for the daily needs of the students. It could have been moved to College Park office space and still been able to perform its duties.

But then again, I don't think the U Architects know anything about space planning and student demands and needs.

[SaxyIrishTenor]

Centrex currently houses, and has for some time, the Dining Services offices. Certainly an important aspect of campus life, I wonder where it will be relocated to. Anyone know?

[Falcon Fanatic]

If a man speaks in the woods and there are no women around to hear him..... Is he still wrong?

Yes.

[Mr. Frieda]

Centrex currently houses, and has for some time, the Dining Services offices. Certainly an important aspect of campus life, I wonder where it will be relocated to. Anyone know?

Probably somewhere in the Union or in Harshman. There was a push a while back to move the cops into centrex and get dining in the union, but it never fully happened. I could see them ending up in Harshman most likely where that call center is that calls me once a day for money.

[SaxyIrishTenor]

Centrex currently houses, and has for some time, the Dining Services offices. Certainly an important aspect of campus life, I wonder where it will be relocated to. Anyone know?

Probably somewhere in the Union or in Harshman. There was a push a while back to move the cops into centrex and get dining in the union, but it never fully happened. I could see them ending up in Harshman most likely where that call center is that calls me once a day for money.

Harshamn used to be the Central kitchen, actually. I doubt if anyone from UDS would be willing to go back there. Haha. There isn't enough space for the UDS offices in the Union unless they convert some of the meeting rooms. I'll be interested in seeing where they end up.

[Globetrotter]

So they're building the new one north of the Commons. Any one know more about the plans on how far that's going to stretch out? And when the build on top of the current Saddlemire site, how far is it going to reach East-West?

I am far less concerned with the loss of a building as I am with the loss of current greenspace and "openness". It started with Olscamp Hall (for me at least), taking away half or two-thirds of the old football practice field. Then East Hall popped up. Now this. I like seeing progress and upgraded facilities on our campus, but I'm not sure if I like it becoming an "urban jungle" because of it.

This is one of my biggest concerns. The idea of creating quads seems to be lost on the designers. I have looked over the Master Plan that is posted on-line...... I am not impressed ...... AT ALL.......

Olscamp and East are "nice" buildings..... but horribly sited. I don't know which one is worst. I have been in Olscamp, but not in East. So I can't really talk about the interior of East....... The Business Building addition is also a wreck.

TG is correct...... it's not the buildings, but the spaces they create between themselves that is important. The best space on campus is Old Campus and those type of "figural spaces" need to be extended into campus.

Concerning the Wolf Center for Performing Arts....... what is wrong with the current spaces in Moore and University - other than age? The performance spaces in Moore are pretty much state-of-the-art and slightly over 25 years old.

Where are those plans posted?

[Schadenfreude]

This is too bad. The circular design symbolized the student being the center focus of the University. I was only in the upper floors a few times, so I can't attest to its functionality, but symbolically, it was an important design.

This is where I come down.

The Student Services Building was a daring design. Demolition will be an architectural loss.

Jerome Library is probably the landmark building on campus -- the building that ought to be on all the posters (and it was on the official BGSU credit card for quite a while).

Set it aside, and I honestly think Student Services might be No. 2.

What else is there? Math-Sciences? Univesity Hall? McFall? Moore? The Rec Center? All are nice buildings, but none of them come close to the audacity of Student Services.

This is why I really like what they are doing at the stadium with the Sebo Center. It dares to be different.

It must be said that that amptheater didn't work.

From what I understand, campus activists used it as a rallying point and meeting place to discuss their options after the May 4, 1970 shootings. (Among the options discussed, however briefly, was a human blockade of Interstate 75 -- blockades of major thoroughfares being a somewhat significant part of BGSU history).

But by the late 1980s, the amptheater was rarely used. Mostly it was dead pedestrian space that made the building somewhat inconvenient for everyone.

That said, it is my hope that folks at BGSU at least considered ways to preserve the best of Student Services -- perhaps by eliminating the amptheater and bringing things more to ground level -- before ultimately deciding to raze the place. In other words, I hope they really tried to weigh the architectural merit of the place and factor it into their thinking, rather than writing it off as a modern monstrosity, as many have.

It is also my hope that the Wolf Center will dare to be different. The student union, Olscamp Hall and East are all fine buildings. None are truly great buildings.

[The Niz]

The student union, Olscamp Hall and East are all fine buildings. None are truly great buildings.

East reminds me of prison. I don't like that building at all.

[VAFalcon]

John asked me to marry him while sitting on one of the benches outside this building...

[eastharbor11]

I tried posting this the other day, but I guess it didn't go through. I'm all for daring designs, but I'd really like to see new buildings on campus match the original architecture -- the Eppler annex did a pretty good job of this. I think the campus would look much nice if East and Olscamp, for example, matched up better with Moseley, Shatzel, etc. Miami and Toledo have done a nice job of matching the new with the old, and I wish BG would do the same.

[Falcons4Life]

I just want to know who decides where the sidewalks go.....THAT PERSON WAS SURELY DRUNK!!!

BG has the most ridiculous sidewalk designs ever!!

[BGFan]

I just want to know who decides where the sidewalks go.....THAT PERSON WAS SURELY DRUNK!!!

BG has the most ridiculous sidewalk designs ever!!

If you were here in the mid 80's you'd know. The sidewalks follow the paths taken by the students to get to their classes. They were pretty much laid down where no grass was growing.