U. devising campus planning strategy

As part of ongoing efforts to effectively design the layout of Penn's campus, University officials announced that they will start the process of creating a new campus development plan this month, outlining ground rules for future architectural and landscaping projects on campus. According to Provost Robert Barchi, the plan will force the University to evaluate campus development projects and to ensure that the projects mesh with the long-term goals for an effective and attractive Penn environment. "We need to have a campus whose physical campus is equipped to carry out the message of the school," said Barchi, adding that the new plan serves as a supplement to the Agenda for Excellence -- University President Judith Rodin's five-year strategic plan for academic and capital development that was launched in 1995. Executive Vice President John Fry explained that the new plan will look at projects and examine several components of the overall campus framework -- including architectural appropriateness, traffic patterns, parking, landscape, security and frequency of student circulation -- to best make use of University land. He added that the plan will be particularly useful as the University continues to develop the eastern precinct of campus -- where future projects include the conversion of the former General Electric Building at 31st and Walnut streets into a $54 million apartment complex and the transformation of the Civic Center into a cancer research and treatment center, as well as the possible eventual purchase of the U.S Postal Service lands. Barchi explained that in 1993, under former University President Sheldon Hackney, a broad campus development plan had been created but never effectively implemented. And now, after several large projects have materialized through the years -- such as the Sansom Common retail complex -- officials deemed necessary a clearly articulated development plan. Under the new plan, a steering committee and five individual working committees -- composed of students, faculty and staff -- have been appointed to examine five key areas of concern for Penn's physical campus. The committees will look at a broad range of issues that affect campus life, including academic purpose and environment; student, faculty and administrative life; historical preservation; transportation and maintenance. The University has also hired Olin Partnership Ltd., a local landscape and architectural design firm -- founded by Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning Professor Laurie Olin -- to help conduct a review of the campus for future development. The firm previously designed campus planning strategies at Yale and Duke universities and Harvard Business School. Barchi said that Olin has "national and international expertise [and is] well equipped to critique what we've done and are doing in the future." He also stressed that Olin -- both a Penn professor and West Philadelphia resident -- is sensitive to the needs of the University community. Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning Professor Anuradha Mathur -- a member of the student life and administrative life committee -- stressed the importance of careful campus development. "[It's] crucial," she said. "The way the physical environment is designed is crucial to any city."

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