UNA has many needs and has many plans in place to meet those needs. Among these is the need for a new arts and sciences building. The current arts and sciences building, Floyd Hall, has become very outdated and worn, as the years have passed. Many of the laboratories in this building are no longer functioning properly or are not functioning at all. There is also a strong need for more classroom space. As this university makes plans to grow and expand its student population it has to be ready to accommodate according to these needs. The current department and classroom set up is also somewhat outdated. Many of the departments on this campus have classes, which meet in other department buildings, and many times this becomes a terrible inconvenience.
The siting of any building is never an easy process and usually very conflict oriented. Using ARC GIS the analysis of this problem could be done in a somewhat timely and accurate manner. Although there maybe no right or wrong answer to this problem, ARC GIS will reveal better and worse scenarios.
To begin the analysis, all of the exiting data layers had to be loaded into our personal files, opened and analyzed. Upon our initial observation, it was noticed that many of the data layers were in need of update. To do this first task we had to heads up-digitize this information into the database. The very first layer created was a property assessment layer that allowed us to see all of the land that was currently owned by the university. This was essentially the beginning and the broadest of our research area. Our research was only narrowed from here. The next step down from this layer was the streets layer; field research was a must to get any kind of accuracy here. We started by removing any of the roads that no longer existed and replaced these areas with walkways or green spaces, according to findings in our field research
By removing certain streets we were left with gaps that needed to be filled. Many of these gaps were filled with newly built or being built walkway and pedestrian areas. There currently was no existing walkways layer in the database; this led to the making of the first of many new layers. To make the walkways layer we again used information gathered from field research to find out where the new walkways are located. Our field research was then incorporated into the layer with an editing session and digitizing.
The building layer was already in the database but was somewhat out of date. Using a current campus layout map we were able to up-date the database, label, and add or remove any building as the need arose. The labeling process was somewhat time consuming but very beneficial, as knowing where all current buildings were located or not located allowed us to immediately narrow our building site location search. There is no desire to destroy a good usable building, however there are many buildings on campus that could be renovated or removed, and one of these choices was a viable option.
Parking is a frequent topic of discussion around the UNA campus. For the most part parking is complained about rather than praised, but according to the US department of college campuses, UNA has more than adequate standards for parking and even excels compared to many other campuses around the nation with one parking space for every 2.1 person on campus. This number includes students, faculty, and staff.
UNA plans to do away with inner campus parking and go to a completely pedestrian campus. This means that relocating many parking areas is a must. The parking layer was already in the database but like the streets layer, needed modification. The UNA master plan showed which parking areas were to be done away with or moved. Using this as a guide, we updated the parking layer of our database.
Another sensitive topic that needed to be addressed was the existing and proposed green spaces. The concern was not to do away with any existing green space and if any was done away with, to find a way to replace this area in another location. Building a green spaces layer was a must. We used the master plan as a reference to build this layer. Using the field research done previously and the master plan to show plans for further green space we analyzed and digitized all the information to build this layer. This layer allowed for the narrowing of our research area even more as we did not want to site a building in these areas.
The analysis of all of this data left us with two areas that were feasible to place a building with a square acre footprint. The first is the area where Powers Hall currently sits. There were several pros to this site as well as many cons.
For starters this area is located close to the heart of campus, as it exist today. The topography of this area would allow for one to two basement levels that would permit for the disguising of a larger, taller building. This area is also located near the new parking deck, which is convenient for faculty and students as well as aiding in disguising the new building.
The second proposed area lies just west of Pine Street between Flowers Hall and Kilby School. Currently this area is home only to a small maintenance building, and there would be no problem with removing it. This site is somewhat larger than the other site and would be optimal as the building shape and lay out could be manipulated many different ways. The topography of this area is similar to that of the other site and would allow for disguising a larger building. Another benefit with this area being so large, is that green space could be added or even parking if the needed arises.
There were several problems with both of these sites, the first being that Powers Hall is currently located on the first area. This is not a large problem however, because according to the master plan, there are plans to build new sorority town homes in the future. Even with these plans, however, this building could be easily renovated into classroom space. The second site�s problems were not quite as large as these. The maintenance building is small and plans have already been made to remove it from its current location. The only other problem encountered with this area was that the master plan initially showed a recreational center being built on this site. The Master plan has been updated since it was published and the recreation center construction is now planned beside the Wesley Foundation building.
To conclude the research, our findings showed the best location for the new arts and sciences building is to locate in the second area. Though there maybe many other options, with the data and time frame allotted, this is by far the best possible scenario.
