Photo by Carol Flaherty Where should we put that new building? Choosing building sites at MSU by Carol Flaherty By the time you consider view corridors, old trees, parking and utility tunnels, it's amazing that there are any sites for new buildings at MSU. But sites are chosen, and the process is both inclusive and fairly expeditious, says Jerry Bancroft, dean of the College of Arts and Architecture and chairman of the campus Facilities Planning Board, which oversees the process. The last time MSU had a true master plan was 1912, though there was a planning study done in 1982. While Bancroft is anxious to have a master plan, the old plans still provide some guidance. In the 1912 plan, Montana Hall was the central focus of campus, and that is still a major consideration, Bancroft says. In lieu of a current master plan, Bancroft says the board uses design guidelines, including "functional adjacencies" or the idea of getting cooperating faculty relatively close together. In addition, the committee tries to maintain open spaces and view corridors, build near existing utility tunnels to save money, and consider the greater plan of the university, which is emerging even without a master plan. That greater plan assumes that MSU is moving from an auto-centered campus to a pedestrian-centered one and that functional adjacencies will be carried out with buildings facing quadrangles of open space. For instance, plans for the new chemistry building on campus call for it to be located northeast of Linfield Hall. The proposed Animal Biosciences Facility would likely be located opposite the chemistry building and southeast of Linfield, because the researchers are likely to work together. New buildings consistently lead to parking concerns, Bancroft says. Parking, by state law, cannot be paid for with state funds, so part of campus parking fees are banked for erecting a parking garage. Bancroft thinks such a garage may be built close on the heels of the chemistry building. Bancroft doesn't buy the idea that the campus lacks classroom space. "If you want to have a class between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., there is a lack of space. If you want a class at 8 a.m., 4 p.m. or 8 p.m., there are plenty of classrooms available," he says. Meanwhile, anyone wanting to take part in the process of helping to choose sites for buildings or consider parking issues is welcome at the University Facilities Planning Board meetings.