University of Cincinnati

University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio

Campus Heritage Plan Chapter 1 (PDF) 16.4MB

Campus Heritage Plan Chapter 2 (PDF) 15.1MB

Campus Heritage Plan Chapter 3 (PDF) 1.9MB

Campus Heritage Plan Chapter 4 (PDF) 5MB

Campus Heritage Plan Chapter 5 (PDF) 16.1MB

Campus Heritage Plan Chapter 6 (PDF) 19.2MB

Campus Heritage Plan Chapter 7 (PDF) 6.8MB

Campus Heritage Plan Appendix A (PDF) 3.5MB

Campus Heritage Plan Appendix B (PDF) 89.5MB

Campus Heritage Plan Appendix C (PDF) 35.4MB

The University of Cincinnati sits on 198-urban acres north of the city, a site it has occupied since 1895. Today the campus is a virtual museum of 'signature' buildings and landscapes, with twenty important structures built since 1995 by such architects and firms such as Frank Gehry, Peter Eisenman, Machado and Silvetti, Bernard Tschumi, Morphosis, Laurie Olin, and Hargreaves Associates. The campus also includes a series of late nineteenth-and early twentieth-century buildings and landscapes, including the Cincinnati Observatory, a National Historic Landmark property. By examining the relationship of older buildings and landscapes to newer ones, the school will develop guidelines for preserving both into the future.designed landscapes and agricultural lands.

University of Cincinnati received a Getty grant in 2006 for $150,000 to support campus heritage planning.

Report Summary

Purpose: By examining the relationship of older buildings and landscapes to newer ones, the school will develop guidelines for preserving both agricultural lands and future designed landscapes.

Historic Designation: The 198-acre campus includes the Cincinnati Observatory, a National Historic Landmark property.

The University of Cincinnati campus is a virtual museum of “signature” buildings and landscapes, with 20 important structures built since 1995 by such architects and firms as Frank Gehry, Peter Eisenman, Machado and Silvetti, Bernard Tschumi, Morphosis, Laurie Olin, and Hargreaves Associates. The campus also includes a series of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century buildings and landscapes, including the Cincinnati Observatory and 20 more important structures built since 1995.

Planning Process:

• Consultants used the university’s 2000 Master Plan as a framework for preservation efforts
• Consultants .surveyed the campus, identifying which buildings they considered “significant” and which “mature”
• Office of the University Architect determined which campus structures qualified as “signature buildings”
• Consultants organized the campus into character areas and, further, into signature landscapes, organizing their data accordingly

Outcomes: Products

Milner Associates prepared an illustrated condition report for each building and landscape identified as significant

Campus maps were coded

• illustrating location of new construction, and
• distinguishing contemporary from mature buildings and landscape areas

Outcomes: Policies and Plans

Several recommendations plan to strengthen heritage preservation efforts by expanding the university’s staff expertise. For example, when hiring maintenance staff, look for applicants with building materials conservation experience.

Several recommendations plan for education and increased support for the institution’s heritage

• Using campus heritage information to enrich the school web site, or
• Using development of management guidelines as a teaching opportunity

Unique Features

Maintenance recommendations for “sculpted earthen . . . elements”

Prediction of future significance and heritage value for various architectural elements and landscapes

Focus on innovative materials and construction methods used in modern constructions—making standard resources futile because of the unique characteristics and maintenance needs of such materials

Emphasis on diversity of campus characteristics in which each landscape or building illustrates a designer’s style rather than the institution’s

• Diversity as a “style” expressing the modern nature of the school and a tendency to challenge orthodoxy
• Diversity as conveying a unique school identity, like the diversity characterizing an art gallery

Recognition that publicly esteemed architecture and landscapes attract students as well as donors, i.e. they attract funds.

Advisors

The consultants enlisted an architecture critic for the project team, as well as several university stakeholders: Associate Professor, Architecture; Environmental and Graphic Designer; Information Technology Analyst / Designer; Project Manager, Landscape