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- - - - - -------, Official monthly publication of the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce · Seventy-five cents �Reprinted from Atlanta Magazine, March, 1967 �ATLANTA• VOLUME 6, NUMBER 11 ANATOMY OF A SUPERSCHOOL The master plan for the stunning, split-level Georgia State CoJl ege of the future is still largely o n the draw ing board, but n eed , logic, and vision are solidl y in its corne r , a nd th e first steps have already b een taken. Bv BRUCE GALPHIN . \N ATLANTA ALDERMAN looked with a mixture of admiration and doubt at the plans for the Georgia State Coll ege of the futu re, sprawling over ten blocks in the heart of the city, handso me buildings connected by tree-lined p edestrian plazas straddling the busy streets below. "Mr. Steiner," he asked, " do yo u believe a ll this will ever be?" His skepticism was appropriate. A few yea rs ago the school's home was a converted six-story garage, and before that it had occupied at least eight other sites in Atlanta under eight different nam es. But to And rew Steiner, the Robert & Company architect who has spent two years developing the handsome and ambitious plan, th e answe r about its fulfi llment is an emphati c "yes." I n fac t, to a degree few Atlantans realize, the transformat ion is well under way. Georgia State already occupies four buildings; another is nearing completion ; three more already have been fund ed and let to design contract. The Board of Rege nts has endorsed the entire master pl an, and the city has approved th e first two p edestrian bridges across D ecatur S treet th at tangibly mark it as a sp li t-level ca mpus. Th e multi-level, or "platform city," feature of State 's 1112.ster is o! g r e at si g nifican ce iunc ti.o n a lly, a esth e t i c ally , a nd svmholically. Fu nctionall y, it's the devi ce that makes the whole scheme "·o rk : how to transform a few city blocks criss-crossed by hea\·il y trave lled streets into a campus for 25 ,000 students by 'lJ7'i · By confining through traffic, deliveries, service, uti li ties, ~nd parking to lower levels, the plan will permit a vehicl e-fr ee upper level connecting fort y-four acres of campus. T he aesthetics of the future campus depends heavily on the platfo rm concept. Principall y, rising above city traffic will , rrate a fee ling of unity. This will be emphasized by land" aping, notably a tree-lined prom enade above D eca tur Street fro m the expressway to C ourtland. But the platform, combined with landscaping and judicious placement of th e bui ldings, will also allow di viding the campus into more intimate areas : smaller plazas, places for sitting to read on a wa rm day 0r informa l gatherings, sites to display sculpture and other wo rks of a rt. As a sym bol, a platform campus is peculiarly appropr iate IIJ Atl a nta , for downtown Atlanta itself is largely sp lit-level. Ma ny newcomers ( and quite a few older hands) don 't realp\an ize how much of wha t appears to be "street level" in the central city is really viaduct level. Few have explored the dusty old Atlanta beneath today's busy streets, though recently there have been suggestions of making it a tourist attraction. Even before the turn of the century, Atlantans had been forc ed to grapple with the fact of the city's sharp gradi ents and had come to a solution similar to the one now proposed for Georgia State. There are two main distinctions : Old Atlanta sealed off its earl ier level from the light, whereas the Geo rgia State platform will be pierced to provide light and beauty of sight below; and ..even more important, older Atlanta made the mistake of letting cars come upstairs. Though in a sense Atlanta already is one, the platform city is a hot item of innovation among civic designers around the country. If implemented on schedule, the Georgi a State complex would be a trai l-blazer. It's doubtful whether the exam ple could be widely imitated on such a scale. For a fl at city, th e cost could be staggering. But Atlanta's topography is especiall y suitable. In the ·six or so blocks from Five Points eastward to th e expressway, the altitude drops more than fifty feet . Th e original ga rage building of Georgia State sits on ground at l eas t t hi rty feet higher than the lowe r e nd of t h e proposed camp us. · Thus an artificially raised main cam pus level wou ld be consistent with what Atlanta already has don e to conquer its rolling terrain. It also wou ld complement the recently announced com mercial p latform city planned to span th e rail road complex north and east of the State Capitol. The Steiner p lan explai ns how the new pedestrian plaza could be woven into the fabric of the surrounding city without any rough seams or sharp edges. The reason that so few Atlantans rea lize how much of thei r downtown is artifi cially raised is that there are comparatively few visible seams. They can be seen from Central Avenue or Courtland Street, for these streets cross the rai lroad gulch. And an even more dramati c view of how Atlanta raised itself up off its tracks can be seen from the T echwood and Hunter Street viaducts, which span the vast rail yards that probably wi ll be platformed ove r in fu ture development of the city. But for the most part, since buildings have been constructed right up against the downtown viaducts with few openings to th e old city below, the viaducting is not so obvious. Under �• Georgia State College had occupied eight different homes before it moved to an old garage on I vy Street. No w it's permanently rooted in one of the m ost advantageous lo cations of any urban university in America. The site photograph belo w suggests State's future role: at the center of Atlanta's transportation (expressway at the left and bottom, rapid transit main station to be nearby) , close to its financial he·art ( Five Points at upper right ) , adjacent to a major medical center (Grady Hospital at left center), and near Atlanta's government centers ( Capitol, County Courthouse, and City Hall at top center) . Th e remarkable location adds validity to Andre w Steiner's proposal for an " urb an extension" to hel/1 solve problems of cities of the futur e. �, th e Steiner plan, one wou ld not lose all sense of the natural g rou nd level at Georgia State. The present streets would continu e to p rovide vehicular access to the campus, and th e spans above would be pierced to admit light and views of the ca mpus. T o avoid abrupt drops around the periphery of the ca mpus, Mr. Steiner p roposes grad ual d ropping of the pedestria n level and extensive use of landscap ing. Further, he suggests that the fut ure cam pus' high-rise buildi ngs - except for the adm inistrative center which is the foca l point of the entire plan - be placed on the outer edges, thus blending in wi th the city's other tall structures, priva te a nd public. High-rise buildings a re not ideal fo r heavily used classes. Either an unreasonable a mount of space must be devoted to elevators, or there is an intolerable delay fo r students rushing to class. Since the entire 1975 campus is designed so th at th ere will be no more th an a ten-minute wa lk from a ny one class to a ny other, the qu estion of bui lding heights raises a problem . F or accommodating as many as 3 2 , 0 0 0 people (including fa culty and staff ) on a campus of less than fi fty acres necessarily mea ns ve rti ca l expansion . Mr. Steiner solves th e prob le m by keeping heavil y used classroom bui ldings relatively low; th e tall er stru ctu res wo uld be used for such ac tivities as adrninistration, research , a nd housing. Georgia State President Noah L angd ale, Jr., with customary enthusiasm an d verbal color declares tha t " the pla tform complex resembles th e raised plazas of th e classic city of Veni ce." There is indeed , in addi tion to the modern elements, a fl avo r of old E uropean capitals when monarchs had the power a nd the money to raze the old and ugly and build whole new cities in a centuri es-long riva lry to create th e j ewel of th e continent. The p latfo rm ed Geo rgia State would have a uni ty and a sweep tha t evokes well, maybe V eni ce or maybe Mr. Steiner's na tive Vienn a . Th e p la t form wo uld begin to the west of Courtla nd ; drop slirrht ly below Courtland, wh ich itself is a viaduct ; rise bac k up ; a nd then begin an uninterrupted sweep almost all the way to the expressway. Thi s would be th e ma in axis of th e new ca mpus. The minor axis, crossing at th e ad ministration buildi ng, wo uld be a small er spine extending northeastwa rd a long Piedmont to a point beyond the rear of the old Municipal Auditorium . D ecatu r, Piedm ont, and Butler all would be bridged . Beca use the nat ural g round level d ro ps ra pid ly towa rd the east, there would be room fo r as ma ny as fou r laye rs of pa rking below the plaza, an importa nt consideratio n, since estim a tes fo r the 1975 demand run from a bout 4 ,400 to 8,750 spaces, dependin g on th e ava ilabil ity of ra pid tra nsit and other public transporta tion . On tb."' ~, lutt.ercd platform above, accord ing to the Steiner phm,--'-'--\,a-ndscaped plazas are one of the most important uni fying elements of the campus and shou ld be designed to create a ri ch and va ried environm ent, including intimate sea ting an d rea ding a reas. Other imp orta nt pa rts of the la ndscape trea tment a re such elements as street furniture and the many small details which can ma ke life on the ca mpus p leasant and exciting. By street furniture we mean a ll th e obj ects tha t furn ish our sidewalks, such as lighting sta nda rds, signs, baskets, benches, fl ower boxes and containers, vend ing m achines, kiosks, a nd shelters fr om wind and rain. In som e of the open spaces, book stalls, fl ower stalls, and even outdoor cafes a nd small structures for sa le of so ft d rinks a nd sandwiches could be an importa nt p art of the overall d esign." Hurt Park, the only ma jor greenery that relieves the sta rkn ess of the present complex, would be drawn even more intim a tely to the future ca mpus when the bl ock of Gilmer Street between the park an d the college is closed. In its expans ion, Geo rgia State is perfo rm ing the not-a t-allincidenta l job of urb a n renewa l. Most of th e existing ca mpus space was acqu ired with federa l urban renewal assistance, a nd college officia ls hop e to obtain even more of the futur e re- The 1975 campus is designed so that no classes are more than a ten-minute walk apart. 1. Campus Plazas 2. A dministrative Center 3. Communications Center an d Th eatre Arts 4. Central L ibrary Comp lex 5. Sparks H all- Classrooms 6. Fine A rts Building- Classrooms 7. A rts and S ciences - Classrooms 8. Schoo l of Business A dministration 9. Physical Education Building 10. S cience Center - Physical Sciences 11 . M edical and Nu rsing Center 12. Future E xpansion Area 13. Grady Hospital E xpansion 14. Stud ent A ctivities Com , plex 15. S pecial S tudies 16. Pri vate Development ( possible cooperative use) 17. High R ise S tudent Ho using 18. Grady Hospital �The proposed expansion plan will enable community and college to make immense reciprocal contributions. quirements through the same method. The college already has swept aside some of the city's worst slums: rows of pawnshops, cheap hotels, rundown warehouses - areas which contributed heavily to the city's crim e rate. But a valid question remains whether this is the wisest use the city could make of the property. Since their conversion from slums to office buildings, apa rtments, and motels, other urba n renewal distri cts are now adding millions of dollars to Atlanta's tax base. \ ,Vhy p lace Georgia State in such a potentially productive location? Few if a ny other major urban colleges occupy so mu.c h space so close to the city's commercial heart. And Geo rgia Sta te h as moved befo re frequently. Since it was found ed in 19 13, it has occupied space a t Geo rgia T ech, the Walton Building at Walton and Cone, the Peachtree Arcade, an attic at Auburn and Pryor, 106¼ Forsyth Street, scattered offices donated by Atlanta businessmen, 223 v\Talton Street, 162 Luckie Street, and fin ally th e garage on Ivy Street which is the taproot of th e present cam pus. It has been designated the Georgia T ec h Evening Schoo l of Commerce, University System of Georgia Evening School. University Extension Center, University System Center, Atlanta Extens ion Center, Georgia Evening College, Atlanta Division of the University of Georgia, a nd Georgia State College of Business Administration . In 1962, Atlanta city fathers m ade their basic commitm ent to th e proposition tha t Georgia State has found a permanent hom e. They designa ted · a n area of a little more than two blocks as the " Geo rgia State Urban R edevelopment" area, thus qua li fyin g it for federal assistance. The \i\1hite H ouse a nnoun ced approva l fiv e months la ter, in reco rd time. There is more than ample justification .for the ald erm en's judgm ent. After all, express1rnys also remove huge tracts of land from the tax d igest. ( The Memorial Interchange, for exam ple, occupies more ac reage than the Steiner pl an proposes for the 1975 Georgia State campus. ) Yet expressways are vital; the expenditures of land a re made. And it can be convincingly a rgued that a vital camp us in the midst of the city ret urns fa r grea ter intangible va lues to Atlanta. It is more th an just a question of meeting the growing demand fo r higher edu cation in Atlanta . It is more than a llo\\·ing students to work downtown while also attending college a n unqu es tioned asse t for the city. It is more th an convenience for the Atlanta businessmen ( with a surprising number of advanced degrees ) who teach part-time. Given the nea r- comp lete expressway system a nd rapid transit within a few yea rs, a downtown Georgia State is within an hour's j ourn ey of about half Georgia's population. It is I immedi ate ly adj acent to centers o f g ove rnm e nt, m edi cin e, comm e r ce, a nd fin a n ce. C o m- munity a nd college can have im mense recipro cal contributions to make. Jvlr. Steiner summarizes the potential as " urban exten ion" - a highl y sophisti cated cousin of th e agricul tura l extension • Platf arming is the key to solving space and traffic problems at the Georgia State of 1975 and later. I t's a solution long used in Atlanta, w hich has been rising on viaducts abo ve its railroad tracks for almost a century. But at State there would be a diff erence : Th e platforms would be for people, and the cars would stay below, where they w ould still receive daylight through perforations in the cover. Th e illustration at left ( abo ve) shows how the perforations might look at the pedestrian level. The rendering below it shows how plat/ arming would affect t he vista of a motorist. The overall view (right abo ve) shows such treatment of Decatur Street. The lo cation's sharp dro poff from I vy S treet to the expressway would allow increasing layers of parking and service access, shown in the cross sections at right . ��cooperation of colleges and agribusiness that has achieved such dramatic results in the past decades. The urban extension concept was suggested in the 1962 annual report of the Ford Foundation. Says the Steiner master plan: " There are many fragments of theory, observation, empirical research, and practical tools cf application, sca ttered through the rel ated fi elds and disciplines, which could make major contributions to such a program .... Hum an ecology, physical planning, and urban design are concerned with different aspects of the geographic-physical environment and its organization into cities and regions. Economics has well developed macro and micro concepts which are every day proving their practical value in regulating the American economy and which are being extended to deal with international problems of finance and economic development. " Political science, through techniques of interpersonal and group dynamics, is aiding the constructive understanding and control of the forces of social change. To all of these, the cultural interpretations of the creative arts and the mass media of communications are making a vast contribution. The value of mathematics, science, philosophic logic, and the computer are too well recognized to bear elaboration, but their critical and generalizing fun ctions must be built into any total conceptual frame." Thus Georgia State, which already has established excellent and reciprocal relationships with Atlanta's business community, in the future can be expected to expand its role to include th e interests and needs of the entire com munity, viewing them with the integrated eye of all the academic disciplines rather than the narrower vistas of the math ematician, sociologist, artist, etc., working alone. What would be the dollar cost of the ambitious Steiner plan? Obviously, it won 't come at bargain basement rates. But considering the location of the complex and its scope, th e estim ate is relatively modest: about $96 million for land and buildings not already fund ed. And of co urse this does not mean a cash outlay of that much by the Board of Regents • The view from Edgewood Avenue, belo w, indicates how existing fa cilities might be utilized and how the j1latf arming could be tap ered off and landscaped to avoid any shar/1 edges. Hurt Park, at present the only gree nery around Georgia State, would remain an important focal point. S f1arks Hall, right center, wo uld tie in with future classroom buildings, and the old Municipal Auditorium, left center, also is included in th e master plan. immediately or even over the next eight years. Some or all of the buildings could be constructed under bond issues, and many phases of th e expansion would qualify for various federal assistance grants. Some eyebrows were raised when Mr. Steiner included the present Atlanta Police Department headquarters in the overall campus. The plan also includes Georgia State's ownership of the old Municipal Auditorium. With the cooperation of the city government, these should prove no major barricades to the plan. A new auditorium and convention complex.. is being completed now on Piedmont between Forrest and Pine. When the second phase - extension of the convention facilities across Pine - is accom plished a few years hence, the city's need for the old auditorium will be at an end. Implementation of the Steiner plan would indeed require building of new police headquarters elsewhere, but the present building itself would not be razed . With some interior remodeling, it would become an integral part of the new campus, surround ed at its second-floor level by the platform which would be part of the principal pedestrian plaza of the future campus. An expenditure that might cause greater controversy is the setting aside of I per cent of the' total building budget for art. The idea is well established in Europe. In Zurich , the art allocation is Io per cent. But in the United States, few governm ent units have adopted the scheme for public buildings. Priva te developers have been bolder than the government in this respect. The Steiner plan is insistent on the point. And it's not talking merely abo ut paintings hung on interior walls. The unique plaza campus, the report asserts, offers unusual opportunity to create beauty, contribute to the status of art in th e university system, and provide an outstanding example for civic design. The master plan urges imm ediate developm ent for a "systematic, comprehensive, and ambitious" plan for art development and for appointment of an art ists' committee with full power to pass on acquisitions and acceptance of don ations. Experience shows that it's a long trip from the drawing boards of ambitious master plans to realization. But the Steiner plan has overwhelming logic as well as beauty on its side. It accommodates the projected student load . It makes brilliant use of Atlanta's topography and the man-made delineations of rails and street patterns. Above all, it helps establish a clear definition of Georgia State's role in the future of Atlanta and the state. W �