Farmland to university
Far from its agricultural roots, the SIUE campus continues its quest for expansion
Catherine Klene
Issue date: 10/12/07 Section: 50th Anniversary Special Edition
In 1965, SIUE students didn't have much difficulty finding their classes.
With only Peck Hall and Lovejoy Library to choose from, the "I got lost" excuse probably did not work very often.
Today, with more than 30 buildings on campus, SIUE has grown in more than just enrollment over the past 50 years.
Gyo Obata of the St. Louis-based Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum architecture firm, originally designed the campus.
University archivist Steve Kerber said for Obata, enhancing SIUE's natural landscape was a key design element.
"Obata was primarily interested in the tremendous natural beauty of the campus," Kerber said.
The fan parking lots and the buildings distance from the parking are all created to reflect, not distract from the beauty of the campus.
Obata wanted people to walk a short distance and "appreciate the beauty of the landscape and the buildings themselves," Kerber said.
Another primary design influence of SIUE's buildings was first university president Delyte Morris.
Kerber said Morris worked with Obata to make sure the building had academic functionality as well as architectural ingenuity.
"The reason there are no windows in the Peck classrooms was because … Morris didn't want any distractions in class," Kerber said.
As buildings were added over the years, campus architect Richard Klein said he and previous campus architects strove to keep Obata's same basic design principle.
"Surprisingly, we have followed the general concepts that Obata laid out," Klein said.
These concepts include what Klein called a "horizontality" to the buildings, along with tall, brick towers and using pre-cast concrete or limestone for wall panels. These design concepts connect the university buildings to make them a distinct SIUE structure while maintaining their individuality.
"It maintains an overall continuity that new buildings reflect the old," Klein said. "It maintains the heritage that was originally developed."
With only Peck Hall and Lovejoy Library to choose from, the "I got lost" excuse probably did not work very often.
Today, with more than 30 buildings on campus, SIUE has grown in more than just enrollment over the past 50 years.
Gyo Obata of the St. Louis-based Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum architecture firm, originally designed the campus.
University archivist Steve Kerber said for Obata, enhancing SIUE's natural landscape was a key design element.
"Obata was primarily interested in the tremendous natural beauty of the campus," Kerber said.
The fan parking lots and the buildings distance from the parking are all created to reflect, not distract from the beauty of the campus.
Obata wanted people to walk a short distance and "appreciate the beauty of the landscape and the buildings themselves," Kerber said.
Another primary design influence of SIUE's buildings was first university president Delyte Morris.
Kerber said Morris worked with Obata to make sure the building had academic functionality as well as architectural ingenuity.
"The reason there are no windows in the Peck classrooms was because … Morris didn't want any distractions in class," Kerber said.
As buildings were added over the years, campus architect Richard Klein said he and previous campus architects strove to keep Obata's same basic design principle.
"Surprisingly, we have followed the general concepts that Obata laid out," Klein said.
These concepts include what Klein called a "horizontality" to the buildings, along with tall, brick towers and using pre-cast concrete or limestone for wall panels. These design concepts connect the university buildings to make them a distinct SIUE structure while maintaining their individuality.
"It maintains an overall continuity that new buildings reflect the old," Klein said. "It maintains the heritage that was originally developed."
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