A busy epicenter of the University’s landscape, the Quad is the heart of campus — a place where students go to study, talk or take a quick nap. These daily activities are surrounded by buildings with a rich history that has been collected in a new architecture project.
The School of Architecture recently conducted intensive research on the 18 original Quad buildings using an $180,000 campus heritage grant from the Getty Foundation. The school used the grant to develop a historical preservation plan meant to keep the buildings architecturally cohesive when they are renovated.
“We did a comprehensive inventory of the exterior condition of those buildings today, as compared to when they were originally designed,” said Michael Desmond, architecture professor and head of the project.
Van Cox, landscape architecture professor, worked with Desmond on the project and investigated landscape changes in the Quad.
“The interesting thing about LSU is the way it evolved from a plantation and agrarian site to a college campus that started out with a highly structured center core and evolved rather loosely,” Cox said.
Cox said one of the biggest changes was the construction of Middleton Library, which altered the fundamental structure of the space originally laid out in the shape of a cruciform.
“I call [Middleton Library] a carbuncle,” Cox said. “It’s a wart in the middle of an otherwise beautiful setting.”
The four points of the cross were Foster Hall, Memorial Tower, Atkinson Hall and Hill Memorial Library. Middleton broke up the cross shape and created one large quadrangle and two smaller ones. Cox said he doesn’t mind the reduction in size of the Quad, but the architecture of the library does not fit in.
CRACKING UP
While Cox researched the changing landscape, Desmond focused on structural issues. He investigated the numerous cracks on the exterior of buildings around the Quad. Desmond said approximately 16,000 linear feet of cracks cover structures in the Quad. The reason for them, he said, is the lack of expansion joints to safely absorb temperature-induced expansion and contraction on the outside walls.
The building surfaces were constructed with a then-innovative technique using a concrete stucco overlay process with pebbles in it. Its use in the Quad was the first time it was done to scale, and expansion joints were not included, which causes problems because of the expanding and contracting of surfaces because of temperature.
“Cracks were a problem within two years of buildings being finished,” Desmond said. “Water gets behind them and between the surface of the building, and the freeze-thaw cycle could push the surface off.”
The University has temporarily remedied the cracks by caulking them, which gives them their white color. The caulk prevents the cracks from being an active threat to buildings, but Desmond said they are an aesthetic problem.
“They are filled with ugly silicone and just look awful,” Desmond said.
Local architect Gerry Campbell has developed a solution, Desmond said. The caulk will be replaced by a two-part epoxy that matches the walls and can act as expansion joints because it won’t become rigid.
ROADBLOCKED
Money is the obstacle in repairing cracks and other problems, Desmond said.
“The buildings are structurally in great shape, but in need of maintenance at all times,” he said. “The University has had to focus on repairing roofs, and they haven’t had the budget to repair these cracks. There’s years of deferred maintenance.”
Emmett David, director of Facility Development, said the backup in maintenance projects is simply because “there is no money.”
“With the financial affairs of the state, deferred maintenance and capital outlay funds are hard to obtain,” David said.
David said maintenance projects are held up to a facility condition index determined by comparing the price of renovations to the price of complete replacement. The higher the FCI, the more dire the repairs. But David said some buildings have been denied funding for as long as five years.
One such building is Atkinson Hall, with a score of 66 out of 100. The north side of the building alone has 374 linear feet of cracks. David said the estimated cost of renovation on Atkinson is more than $17 million.
Though funding is always scarce, David said Atkinson will have its windows replaced by May 2010. Other repairs are subject to funds from the legislature, he said.
EXHIBITION
Desmond’s findings have been compiled into an exhibit, “Building an American Renaissance,” which is premiering in coordination with the University’s 150th anniversary.It will feature all data he collected about the 18 Quad buildings, as well as wooden models of some of the structures.
Drew Wallace, architecture senior, created intricate models of Atkinson Hall, Foster Hall and Hill Memorial Library. The models, based on the original building plans, took three to four months each to complete, he said.
Wallace said each model took careful planning and repetitive work, as well as comparing the original plans to the structures standing today.
The exhibit will reside in the Student Union from Sept. 10 to Oct. 25. Afterward, the Secretary of State’s Office will send the exhibit across the state to several other museums.
It is scheduled to appear at museums in Toga, Shreveport, Lake Charles, Freeway, Monroe and New Orleans, said Lance Harris, director of curatorial services for the Secretary of State.
“[The exhibit] has a broad reach across the state,” he said. “It’s a well-done exhibit, and it appeals to lots of LSU fans.”
—-Contact Ryan Buxton at [email protected]