The University's new Architect, David Neuman, presented some of his plans, including the transplant of Varsity Hall, to the Board of Visitors' Buildings and Grounds Committee yesterday.
Varsity Hall, a white building which currently accommodates Air Force Reserve Officers Training Corps., is set to move from its location on Hospital Drive to 15th Street behind the French House next summer, University Landscape Architect Mary Hughes said.
The building will be physically moved, requiring the temporary closure of Jefferson Park Avenue. The building will move to accommodate the expansion of Rouss Hall.
The University's next step is to research and select moving firms to complete the disposition. Firms will face obstacles including maneuvering the tall building under power lines, Hughes said.
According to Collette Sheehy, University vice president for management and budget, Varsity Hall originally was going to be moved to the Washington Hall site on the East Range, but the Board raised concerns about the visual impact of the location. As a result, Neuman identified another site for the building.
"We put the challenge to [Neuman] to find another site," Sheehy said.
She added that the building will be kept intact because of its unique history. Built in 1858, the building was originally a free-standing infirmary with several design elements innovative for its time.
Neuman announced the building will be set into a slope with the same orientation it has at its current location.
"I think this project is a good example of why it is important to have someone in the position of University Architect," Buildings and Grounds Committee Chair Mark Kington said.
Originally an architect for Stanford University, Neuman assumed the full-time position of University Architect last Monday.
Other issues addressed at the Board Buildings and Grounds Committee meeting included the demolition of the Max Kade German House on Brandon Avenue.
The German language house, which originally housed 10-15 students, is in need of extensive renovations at an unjustifiable cost, Sheehy said. The students temporarily are being housed in the Gooch/Dillard area. Interested students will be placed in a suite arrangement in Bice House when it reopens next year.
The Board also approved Neuman as the architect of the University Center, a $15 million dollar project to create more social and activity space on Central Grounds.
Neuman said he is excited about creating a holistic style of architecture for the University.
"I am looking forward to being able to bring different groups of people and projects together to create more of a whole," he said. "I am impressed with the students' involvement in the process."
Neuman said he decided to come to the University after visiting Grounds last September while Lawn residents were moving into their new rooms.
"The whole atmosphere of the students moving into the Academical Village, just like Jefferson intended so long ago, and how excited everyone was, was just such an incredible experience," Neuman said. "The students were so involved with the chemistry of the moment."
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