• INTRODUCTION
  
  • Project Mission
    
  • Vision Goals
    
  • Guiding Principles
    
  
  
• PROGRAMMING PHASE
  
  • Summary of Findings and Recommendations
    
  • University-Wide Space Calculation Summary
    
  • Departmental Space Calculation Summary
    
  
  
• MASTER PLANNING PHASE
  
  • Overview
    
  • Plan Phasing
    
  • Planning Concepts
    
  • Key Plan Features
    
  
  
• BUILDING CONDITIONS ASSESSMENT
  
  • Overview
    
  
  
• DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES
  
  • Introduction
    
  • Site Planning Overview
    
  • Landscaping Overview
    
  • Architecture Overview
    
  
  

In order to address the facilities goals identified in Eastern’s constitutional plan, a campus master planning process was initiated in Fiscal Year 1997. The overall mission of the project was to develop a Campus Master Planning process that:

• supports and enhances Eastern’s academic mission and programs in an excellent fashion;
  
  
• provides a set of decision-making tools;
  
  
• furnishes an analytical information base for decision-making;
  
  
• involves the campus community throughout the process;
  
  
• addresses community issues and the needs of all departments and programs;
  
  
• defines the future development of the University’s facilities and grounds, in phased growth;
  
  
• evaluates in detail the space allocation needs of nine academic departments occupying the three academic buildings in greatest need of renovation;
  
  
• targets the same quantity and quality of space provided by public institutions that, like Eastern, emphasize quality in undergraduate and selected graduate programs.
  
  

Following are the Vision Goals, establishing the underlying principles on which the Campus Master Plan is based:

Having selected Eastern primarily because of their commitment to teaching, faculty expect academic rigor and intellectual curiosity not only from their students, but from themselves, as they continue to uphold Eastern's tradition of research, scholarship, and service.

Eastern wants to be "Big enough to matter, small enough to care."

Eastern seeks excellence in:

• Teaching
  
  
• Undergraduate and selected Graduate Programs
  
  
• Interactive Teaching/Research as a mentoring tool
  
  
• Community outreach and cultural enrichment
  
  
• Eastern wants to maintain the current student/faculty/staff population.
  
  

• Plan for the dream, not the limitations.
  
  
• Plan great interior and exterior spaces that reflect Eastern’s cultural heritage.
  
  
• Effect no change in the University mission or population.
  
  
• Organize core functional elements into academic, administrative, residential and sports zones.
  
  
• Create a pedestrian-friendly campus.
  
  
• Establish a perimeter vehicular network.
  
  
• Be a good neighbor, by recognizing the interrelationship of the University with the city of Charleston.
  
  
• Remain a residential campus.
  
  
• Improve the physical beauty of the campus buildings and grounds within the context of protecting and preserving the environment.
  
  
• Plan for the phased physical growth of the campus in three increments: 5 years, 10 years, and Ultimate Development.
  
  

Two programming processes were used: a Level One programming process to calculate overall University space needs; and a Level Two programming process to calculate space for nine departments in critically deficient facilities (the "9-D Departments"). The Level One process is by definition a general, macro-level approach. A Level Three calculation is the kind used for the schematic design of a building project, based on a comprehensive room list. The Level Two calculation is in between – it accommodates a block diagram level of space planning, useful to determine the overall type and amount of space a department needs. The greater detail of the Level Two programming for the 9-D departments will be very helpful in developing capital improvement project requests for these facilities high on the University’s capital projects list. It is important to note, however, that the facilities needs of all University units were considered carefully in the development of the recommended Campus Master Plan, not just those of the 9-D Departments.

At its current enrollment of 10,259 full-time equivalent (FTE) students on campus, EIU has 1,492,826 assignable square feet (ASF) of space (pending completion of the EIU room database). Critical space shortages exist in classroom, library, teaching lab and lab service space, and selected departmental office areas. Many of the general classroom and teaching lab spaces are seriously outmoded or lack adequate support facilities. Nearly all of the residence halls are cramped, outdated and/or in need of renovation. Several academic buildings, particularly Life Science, the Doudna Fine Arts Center and Physical Science, need major renovation. The University’s overall level of deferred maintenance need is very high, exceeding $150 million, and virtually all University buildings require investment to address deferred maintenance.

Although the projected Ultimate Phase enrollment is not expected to change overall, the Level One calculation for the Ultimate Phase yields a need for 1,980,768 assignable square feet (ASF) of space, an increase of 510,476 ASF or 34.2% over the existing available space. In both quantitative and qualitative terms, the most critical area of need is lab space. Following are the critical areas of need:

• Space in the 100 GENERAL CLASSROOM category has a proposed growth of 13,237 ASF or 10.7% over the existing space allocation. In addition, much of the existing space is outdated and unable to support contemporary instructional technologies.
  
  
• Space in the 200 LABORATORY category has a proposed growth of 39,431 ASF or 35.9% over the existing space allocation, divided roughly 30 percent/70 percent between Teaching Labs and Other Lab Space. Much of the existing lab space is outdated, unsafe and/or in bad physical condition.
  
  
• Because there is no planned staff growth, space in the 300 OFFICE category has an overall zero net growth proposed. However, some departments are critically short of space, either due to inadequate office size or lack of support space. Should any of these departments move into new space at the proposed office space standards, they will require additional area.
  
  
• Space in the 400 LIBRARY category has a proposed growth of 43,339 ASF or 54.8% over the existing space allocation. Although there is a significant library space shortage, this deficit can be made up by using remote storage, or converting existing stack space to compact shelving.
  
  
• Space in the 900 RESIDENTIAL category has a proposed growth of 286,500 ASF or 58.8% over the existing space allocation. All of this space is discretionary, and may be dependent on the availability of private-sector partnership funding. However, there is a tremendous need to upgrade most of the existing residential units to contemporary quality living space.
  
  
• Fourteen buildings targeted for demolition over the more than fifteen-year period addressed in this plan require an additional 144,511 ASF to replace them, bringing the total recommended Ultimate Phase new space requirement to 654,987 ASF.
  
  

The 9-D Departments currently have a total of 184,737 ASF. The primary need is for more and better quality lab space-- teaching, service, and individual study, with a small amount of research space.

Including a 20% proposed growth in weekly student contact hours taught in teaching labs, and an overall faculty/staff growth assumption of 13%, the Level Two calculation produced a final target for the Ultimate Phase of development of 321,317 ASF, representing a growth of 136,580 ASF or 73.9%. Based on whether a department is moving into new space or expanding in its current location, the final space allocation target for each one is a unique calculation. In some cases, this calculation yields less than the amount of space based on proposed University-wide space standards, and in other cases much more.

The Campus Master Plan contains phased move strategies intended to accommodate the recommended Campus Master Plan projects and their timing.



MASTER PLANNING PHASE

Overview [Return to Top]

The overall focus of the Campus Master Plan is to enhance the quality of campus life in all its aspects, including academics, recreation residential living and support services. Improved facilities, services, safety and visual quality are all part of enhancing the quality of Eastern’s campus environment. State-of-the-art academic facilities, contemporary residential accommodations, and outdoor and indoor sports and cultural spaces are all-important contributors to the quality of campus life.

Accommodating approximately 749 thousand assignable square feet of new academic, student service, residential, and indoor sports space over the next 15 years and beyond will require expansion beyond present campus boundaries, rearrangement of existing facilities, and removal and replacement of a select number of deteriorated buildings. There is a need to better define open space and improve pedestrian and vehicular circulation patterns. The Campus Master Plan provides a clear direction for the organization of space and circulation.

In adding academic and student service facilities to the campus, the concept of maintaining and achieving college or departmental adjacencies is an important criterion. The Campus Master Plan addresses the space allocation of nine departments currently housed in the three academic buildings most in need of repair and expansion, plus the consolidation of a number of scattered departments in the new Student Services Building.

Program growth increases demand on parking, transportation and wayfinding, and utilities infrastructure systems. The Campus Master Plan addresses these elements with the creation of an additional 1,430 parking spaces over the three-phase duration of the Plan, relocation of existing parking and vehicle traffic patterns to reduce pedestrian/vehicular conflict, and related transportation, wayfinding and utility system improvements.

A prime objective of the Campus Master Plan is to improve Eastern’s physical image, safety, and visibility. Every aspect of outdoor space is important to the image of the campus. A wide range of architectural styles is represented on the Eastern campus. Consistent application of good landscape design is a way to tie the diverse building architectures together, and consistent use of materials will create a more cohesive campus environment.

The Campus Master Plan provides for the three-phase addition of 748,979 new building assignable square feet, and the demolition of 144,512 ASF. In addition, approximately 4 million square feet of campus outdoor space will be added and/or redeveloped.

The total estimated cost of projects recommended in the Master Plan, including site acquisition, new construction, and renovation and deferred maintenance of existing facilities, is $435 million, in current (1999) dollars.

Funding for the Campus Master Plan will come from three primary sources: state capital budget appropriations, University Revenue bond funds and private donations. An increased emphasis on raising private funds for capital projects should be seriously considered, in order to address the required funding for the Campus Master Plan’s recommended projects. Other funding sources that could be pursued for selected projects include private ventures and public/private sector partnerships. A permanent operating budget allocation for land acquisition other than parking lots, which is financed through the parking fund, should be considered to acquire the land necessary for realization of the Campus Master Plan recommendations.

The Campus Master Plan is programmed in three phases. The projects identified in Phase I represent those projects that are most urgently needed to serve the current operations of the University.

The projects identified in Phase II represent those projects that are important to the improvement of the campus, but not as urgently needed as the Phase I projects.

The projects identified in the Ultimate Phase are those that represent long-term needs for the improvement of the campus. Some of the projects identified in the Ultimate Phase have a lesser likelihood of construction, but the Campus Master Plan recommends locations for these facilities should they be funded.


Planning Concepts [Return to Top]

A primary guiding principle establishing a framework for the development of the Campus Master Plan is the creation of a pedestrian-friendly campus with a perimeter vehicular network. Several recommendations are made in the plan to bring this about, including:

• Much of the existing parking will be moved out of the academic core of the campus.
  
  
• Fourth Street and Ninth Street will be the primary vehicular access routes to campus parking.
  
  
• Conversion of Seventh Street and Garfield Street to pedestrian-only traffic creates an essentially vehicle-free inner campus zone.
  
  
• The Seventh Street Pedestrian Concourse will be lined with many of the proposed new major buildings.
  
  
• The focus of the Garfield Concourse will be the proposed Booth Library Plaza.
  
  

Another key planning concept is the organization of the campus into the core functional elements of academic, administrative, residential and sports zones. Proposed plan elements that embrace this concept include:

• Development of two campus "edge" complexes, the Convocation Center Complex on Lincoln Avenue, and the Student Apartment Complex on Ninth Street.
  
  
• Development of sports complexes on the west and east side of the campus.
  
  

Based on the Guiding Principles, the Campus Master Plan has the following site features:

• Development of inner and outer vehicular loop systems.
  
  
• Site acquisition focused on land between Seventh and Ninth Streets to provide for new parking; in the area bordered by Lincoln Avenue, Fourth Street, Division Street and Garfield Street to provide space for the proposed Convocation and Visitor/University Centers; and along the east side of Ninth Street to accommodate proposed new student apartment housing.
  
  
• Reinforcement of the two existing pedestrian corridors running north and south in the academic core; and east-west across the academic core in three places: Grant Street, Garfield Street, and Roosevelt Avenue.
  
  
• Provision for enhanced vehicular-free pedestrian circulation space by converting most of Seventh Street and Garfield Street between Fourth and Seventh to Pedestrian Concourses.
  
  
• Concentration of new parking between the former Seventh Street right-of-way and Ninth Street allowing pedestrians to walk directly from parking into the academic zone of the campus, unimpeded by vehicular traffic.
  
  
• Development of a dual sports/recreation complex concept, with a new one east of Greek Court complementing an enhanced complex west of Fourth Street.
  
  
• Re-establishment of a dedicated prairie grass field, to be located on the site east of Fourth Street and immediately north of the proposed Edgar Drive extension.
  
  
• Introduction of vehicular gateways and pedestrian portals to define key campus entry points.
  
  

The Campus Master Plan includes the following recommended capital projects:

• An expanded Doudna Fine Arts Center accommodating the needs of the Art, Music and Theater Arts departments.
  
• A number of new buildings arranged along the proposed Seventh Street Pedestrian Concourse, including new student services and science buildings north of Fine Arts, an addition to the east end of the University Union, and the student suite housing complex south of the Tarble Arts Center.
  
  
• A new Convocation Center/Visitor Center/University Center Complex sited along Lincoln Avenue west of Old Main.
  
  
• Additions to Booth Library, O’Brien Stadium, the Tarble Arts Center, Lantz Complex, and the Facilities Planning and Management warehouse for the Print Center and recycling.
  
  
• Demolition of the west portions of the existing Student Services Building, saving the east wing to function as the main computer network building. A new parking lot is provided immediately to the south, co-located with a reconfigured Steam Plant service yard.
  
  
• New buildings for Textbook Rental and central storage, and a new Greek Court building. Parking is provided adjacent to all these proposed buildings.
  
  
• A new student apartment complex, possibly financed through a private sector partnership, sited in a block-wide zone between Ninth and Tenth Streets, from Lincoln Avenue to Arthur Street. On-site parking is provided for all units.
  
  

More detailed (Level Two) programming was completed for the three academic facilities highest on the University’s capital projects list. These are the Doudna Fine Arts Center, the Life Science Building and the Physical Sciences Building.

These three buildings house eight of the nine departments for which Level Two Programming was developed. All three of these buildings are in need of major renovation. All three have a long list of deferred maintenance items, and are generally characterized by their outmoded facilities, outdated furniture and equipment, poor mechanical systems, and crowded conditions.

Portions of the Fine Arts (Glass Wing) and Life Science (Annex) Buildings are inefficient and in such poor condition that they should be demolished. Neither the Life Science Building nor the Physical Sciences Building is appropriate for departments with heavy mechanical-electrical-plumbing system requirements, Biological Sciences and Chemistry, in particular. The cost to renovate these buildings for such uses is prohibitive. It is better that such departments move into new space designed specifically for their purpose; the Life Science and Physical Sciences Buildings can be utilized for less system-intense departments.

Although the immediate focus for renovation is on these three buildings, a number of other academic, student services and residential buildings are in need of major upgrade and renovation.



DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES

Introduction [Return to Top]

The purpose of the Development Guidelines is to guide Eastern Illinois University in the uniform accomplishment of the desired design concepts illustrated in the Campus Master Plan, and to aid in the development of a cohesive campus character. The Campus Master Plan involves the implementation of both subtle and monumental design ideas that will be implemented over time. The Development Guidelines are to be used as a point of reference not to stifle creativity, but to provide participants in the planning and design process with a context for design decision-making in every future site, building or landscape project.

The Eastern Illinois University campus contains a number of good building and open space examples, and a number of poor ones. These guidelines recognize the positive examples and expand upon them to develop the cohesive place desired by Eastern Illinois University.

Overall visual continuity of the campus can be achieved with careful attention to a variety of considerations. These include the siting, style, form, materials, scale and facade composition of new building and additions; to a varied yet harmonious palette of landscape materials; and to a consistent application of standard site furnishings, including light fixtures, benches, trash receptacles, planters and signs.

Overall, the Eastern Illinois University campus appears well maintained and attractive. The organization of the campus landscape environment, however, presently consists of a variety of outdoor spaces that lack an overall unifying framework. While individually they possess a well-defined spatial organization and character, the campus on the whole lacks unifying elements necessary to convey a cohesive campus theme. These guidelines are intended to promote a more attractive and visually cohesive campus environment.

An important goal of the Campus Master Plan is to establish an overall design and character for the Eastern Illinois University campus landscape. The existing character includes large canopy trees covering a simple ground plane of lawn and groundcovers with intermediate plantings adjacent to buildings. The Campus Master Plan enhances the existing character and provides a unifying landscape framework for the many individualized spaces and design elements that exist and are planned for the campus.

In the establishment of a strong design character, the Campus Master Plan emphasizes an orientation to the pedestrian throughout the campus as an integral part of the plan. Major pedestrian concourses are aligned and reinforced with strong allés of trees to create uninterrupted links through campus. Major pedestrian walks and entries with uniform planting, seating and lighting create a cohesive system, functionally and visually linking the various campus areas together. Only essential vehicular traffic will be allowed within the academic campus core.

Campus architecture falls into two categories: the early Collegiate Gothic buildings clustered around the original campus central space, now identified as the North Quad; and everything else. One common element that appears on many campus buildings is the use of a yellow and buff-colored brick pattern, articulated with horizontal cut limestone bands.

The Collegiate Gothic buildings are distinguished by extensive use of limestone and brick, arched windows and building entries, punched and clustered window openings, pitched clay tile-clad roofs with dormers, and exquisite detailing.

Subsequent buildings represent a wide array of styles, materials, and systems, and are generally of lesser quality. Careful attention to the recommended Development Guidelines over the time span of the Campus Master Plan should result in many opportunities to improve the architectural character of the subsequent buildings.