Monday, 4/28/97 Administration must stop building boom Campus
has no need for more new structures while green open areas are
demolished
Chancellor Young made a commitment at the beginning of his
tenure to preserve UCLA’s "park-like atmosphere." Something must
have gone haywire, because UCLA does not have a park-like
atmosphere. UCLA has concrete courtyards, monolithic parking
structures, rapidly expanding office buildings, and a student store
that resembles a shopping mall. Within UCLA’s mythical garden
setting, the walkways are cluttered with heavy equipment and
debris, and the air is filled with construction-related dust and
noise. Worst of all, there is no end in sight. Whenever a major
project is completed and students, faculty and local residents
breathe a sigh of relief, a massive new project begins. Central
campus is a perfect example. Immediately following the completion
of Ackerman Union – before anyone could enjoy the lull – the area
was fenced off and Bruin Walk was gutted in order to re-route a
water main that impedes the expansion of a parking lot. Following
the relocation of the water main, officials at Capital Programs
hope to demolish the existing Athletics Hall of Fame building and
expand the Morgan Intercollegiate Athletics Center into Bruin Plaza
Park. The result? A loss of more campus green space and the
continuation of major construction in central campus for at least
another year. Capital Programs officials are so construction-crazed
that they are using ridiculous sleight-of-hand techniques in order
to gain approval for the Morgan Center expansion. The most obvious
maneuvers are represented in their attempts to sidestep UCLA’s Long
Range Development Plan (LRDP). The LRDP was established in 1990 to
regulate UCLA’s physical development. Because the proposed Morgan
Center expansion exceeds construction allowances for central
campus, Capital Programs is attempting, through an amendment, to
"transfer" square footage allocations from a UCLA parking lot
located off-campus. The attempt to amend the LRDP and transfer
square footage allowances from one area of campus to another is so
blatantly self-serving that it challenges our ability to see
Capital Programs as even slightly mindful of the LRDP. The LRDP is
worthless if this abusive technique succeeds and the Morgan Center
project is approved. This devil-take-the-hindmost approach has
allowed UCLA planners to pour a concrete slab over the area’s
natural setting. As Capital Programs’ proposed amendment
demonstrates, UCLA has lost sight of long-term environmental
integration or conservation. The campus is growing for growth’s
sake, and it is time for administrators to settle down. Current and
planned projects include a 12-year plan to rebuild the
quake-damaged Center for Health Sciences, expansion of the Law
School, a new International Students Center, the gutting of Bruin
Walk, the excavation of the IM field for subterranean parking,
remodeling the Chancellor’s villa, and the ongoing renovations at
Royce Hall. Proposed projects include the expansion of Morgan
Center, Dykstra Hall and remodeling of the James Bridges Theatre.
It seems the only permanent aspect of UCLA is its propensity for
construction. And with each new project, UCLA becomes more and more
jumbled. Although most campus architects show an affinity for red
bricks, there is no architectural continuity throughout the campus.
If the dust ever settles, campus visitors will see how the
buildings were carelessly thrown together in a mad dash for
development. We hope that Chancellor-designate Carnesale will
arrive in July and see the administration’s disdain for the
environment and apply the brakes. UCLA is a dense mass of patchwork
architecture mirroring greater Los Angeles. It is a paved
commercial landscape surrounding underfunded academic programs, and
administrators need to re-examine their priorities. Finish what
you’ve already torn up, then give it a rest.