With all of the talk about seeing continued investment by University of Buffalo into the city, it's good to know that the students are already onboard. Tomorrow university architecture students are hosting a show at the Market Arcade (617 Main Street) that showcases how the class envisions potential university projects in the future. I asked Professor Adam Sokol, AIA what it was like for the students to tackle this project (for the first time), and he was clear that this was purely hypothetical and in no way attached to any university plans. He did say that the visions that his students developed were in answer to how they would like to see the city grow in conjunction with the university. From Adam:
The sites are purely hypothetical and are not reflective of any concrete plans on the part of UB or the City. But, the sites that the students were given to work with are:
1. Main Street south of Burton
and
2. Edward between Main and Pearl.
Location one is currently surface parking and location two is vacant.
The students have developed schemes for student housing, in combination with other functions such as lecture halls, cinemas, gyms, pools, cafes, etc. Each scheme incorporates a public space component as well.
These are in no way representative of the official UB 2020 plans, but rather are more an exploration of an imaginary alternate universe in which UB experiments with being a more urban university.
It is interesting to note that all of the buildings were designed to be built... they are not just design concepts.
A dialogue starts tomorrow (May 13th) at 12:15 followed by a reception. Many of the students will be on hand to discuss their projects. The exhibition continues through May 30th. The show, called Common Ground, is sponsored by the Landmark Society.