The university should construct aesthetically pleasing buildings, not vain structural novelties.
Last spring, the University of Michigan released a sketch of the new Central Campus Recreation Building (CCRB), currently under construction. It is by no means a visual improvement even on a building as unattractive as its predecessor.
The CCRB will lack any aesthetic coherency with the adjacent buildings surrounding the Hill Neighborhood. Perhaps it would look more appropriate next to the equally wretched Ross School of Business. These new developments are simply hollow billboards advertising an academic brand.
The university has clearly abandoned a consistent architectural vision. Instead of cultivating an inspiring and historic campus, it is doubling down on hideous vanity projects.
The beauty of a building on campus is directly correlated with its date of construction. Visualize Angell Hall, the original Hatcher Graduate Library, and Newberry Hall. These buildings are objectively appealing and for good reason are common settings for senior photos.
These buildings were built before World War II, before the postmodern period. Since the construction of Stockwell Hall, in 1940, we have not seen a thoroughly attractive addition to our campus.
While the CCRB and the Business School may be grand structures, they are devoid of any authenticity. They lack the timeless design as seen in the Michigan League and Michigan Union. The university’s penchant for vogue construction has lasted for decades. In the 1960s, perhaps the Modern Languages Building was breathtakingly chic. Now it’s a glaring eyesore which blights the otherwise charming Ingalls Mall.
Michigan Union
Recent developments such as the Ford School of Public Policy and North Quad Residence Hall are a step in the right direction but are victims of flawed execution. They possess certain qualities of prior paragons, such as grand archways and wood paneling. Yet these structures lack the scrupulous design of historic structures.
The next time you visit North Quad or the Public Policy School, pay attention to the inapt light fixtures and haphazardly placed stairwells. Brick facades alone do not make these buildings refined; they make them appear half-hearted and inauthentic.
This is not to say new construction on campus is inherently doomed. Simply put, buildings should aspire for aesthetic and structural longevity. The neoclassical and Collegiate Gothic styles will remain attractive in perpetuity.
Perhaps environmental regulation has damned modern development to tasteless amalgamations of steel and glass. Yet what is sustainable about the nonstop construction of multimillion-dollar projects only to be demolished once they no longer meet arbitrary standards?
When the University of Michigan is deliberating on an architectural project that costs millions of dollars, perhaps it should ask, “Will students want to take graduation photos in front of this building?” If the answer is no, which it is for the Central Campus Recreation Building, then perhaps it should reevaluate. The only recreation I’d want to do there is disassembling that ugly building.
If architecture is all about intentionality, how about intending to preserve a nice campus? The University of Michigan should embrace its historic character, not concoct a Frankenstein’s monster of inharmonious buildings.
Lawyers Club
