Students were encouraged to attend the Comprehensive and Strategic Master Plan Open Forum on Wednesday in the Student Union, where the NBBJ team presented a refined draft of the comprehensive and strategic campus master plan and gather feedback from students.
The revised draft plan was developed based on feedback received from previous meetings and open houses with multiple key internal and external stakeholders. The presentation was divided into a master plan framework, master plan recommendations and discussion led by the NBBJ team.
The punch line of the working committee has become, “Using the master plan to make LSU the flagship of flagship universities,” said Kim Way, a principal in NBBJ’s Columbus office.
“The master plan we are developing is not intended to be implemented immediately, but rather to provide a guideline and framework for development into the future as projects and improvements are funded,” said Roger Husser, LSU assistant vice president of planning, design and construction.
The planning principles include: connecting the campus and community, celebrating the University’s distinct, rich tradition and culture, creating a learning environment to make the University a high-performance learning and research school, finding ways to enhance the student experience and promoting environmental stewardship.
Many have questioned the value of developing a master plan when budgets have been cut and TOPS funding is being reduced, Husser said in an email earlier this week.
“Even when funding is limited, we still work to improve campus facilities and maintain a safe environment for current and future student,” he said. “There is no better time to develop a strategic and comprehensive plan than when funding is limited because it ensures we are addressing the highest university priorities.”
The presentation included a virtual representation of the plan and virtual reality headsets for anyone to see the plan in 3D.
The representation showed open green spaces where Lockett Hall and Middleton Library are currently sitting. The new library was virtually south of the Studio Arts Building and north of Patrick F. Taylor Hall with an amphitheater seating sitting next to the library.
Many of the classrooms in Lockett Hall will be absorbed by the older buildings in the quad.
Pathways for walking and biking will be thread throughout the campus to combat challenges of commuting to campus and trees, plants and seating will ornament the campus.
The proposed plan has two parking garages: one near Tiger Stadium and one off of West Lakeshore Drive near sorority row.
The University has more parking than it needs and transit will help remote parking, Way said.
Four new proposed bus routes are also a part of the plan: one will go by the parking garage on W Lakeshore Drive and another will bring students to the Student Union. Two smaller loops will travel near the UREC and another will connect to the south parking lots.
Several student housing buildings are proposed to promote the student experience.
A student asked if there will be a new farm since the University is an agricultural and mechanical school.
The sustainability office is creating a plan with food production, Waysaid.
One student was concerned if the master plan will create a separation of social experiences for the STEM and humanities colleges.
The geographic separation was not an intention and that is why the library will be at the focal point of the campus, Way said.
Another student pointed out how hard it is to cross over Nicholson Drive.
The Nicholson Gateway project will have new a intersection that the University is currently working on, Way said.
The last student asked how the plan can justify demolition of Middleton Library when the new math lab was just implemented.
This is a ten year master plan and we don’t know when Middleton will move, Way said.
It costs roughly $15 million in maintenance to keep up the library at this point, added Patrick Tedesco, principal and project manager at NBBJ in Boston.
To see the comprehensive plan visit www.masterplanLSU.com.

Gallery • 8 Photos

Kim Nguyen

A student interacts with a virtual reality simulation of the future campus proposals in the Student Union on Feb. 15, 2017.