By the numbers:
47 on campus meetings
8 open houses
650 online participants
4,200 website visitors
26,200 web page views
In the past 10 years:
Art and Journalism Building (2001)
Shafer Tower (2001)
Music Instruction Building (2004)
David Letterman Communication and Media Building (2007)
Park Hall (2007)
DeHority Hall (2009)
Kinghorn Hall (2010)
Marlyn K. Glick Center for Glass (2010)
Student Recreation and Wellness Center (2010)
Studebaker East (2013)
Possibilities for demolition:
Cooper Science Complex
LaFollette Complex
Noyer Complex
Emens Parking Garage
Carmichael Hall
Over the next 20 years, Ball State could see a new East Quad, more lab and immersive learning space and an East Mall to connect campus.
The plan, which entered preliminary phase in July will wrap up in August at a cost of around $484,500 to develop.
Consultants from the architecture firm SmithGroupJJR visited campus last week to present ideas for the future outlining paths Ball State could take with development and demolition.
The team will continue to work over the summer before finalization. Michael Johnson an urban designer for SmithGroupJJR said the final plan will give the university one full “preferred direction,” with flexibility options for implementation.
Academic Space Problem:
Consultants say Ball State has concerns with space — a lack of lab space, too much office space and no space for immersive learning.
A space analysis said 29 percent of non-residential campus building space is dedicated to offices, with only 2 percent for research labs and 25 percent for classrooms and open labs.
Design leader Bill Ash said in the past, when all classes were done in the quad, campus was linked by the movement of people between them.
“Colleges have retreated into silos, and that sense of place has been lost,” he said.
Solution:
They hope to solve this problem by creating an academic commons in each zone of campus, a commons that is not specifically designated for any discipline, but as a collaborative space.
Ash called the system “immersive nodes,” and it is a way to take the idea of immersive learning and incorporate it into campus space.
Biking Problem:
Confusion between cars, pedestrians and bikes is an area for improvement.
Solution:
The plan outlines organizing bike parking and also shifting bike traffic away from McKinley Avenue, using the future East Mall and the Cow Path instead.
“There is a burgeoning bike culture on campus and we need to embrace it at this time in the master plan,” Johnson said.
Traffic on McKinley Avenue:
Conversations about MITS bus systems are possible. Changing bus routes through campus could reduce strain on McKinley Avenue.
Johnson emphasized McKinley as a focal point of campus and the goal is not to kill its vibrancy.
“When someone drops you on McKinley Avenue, you know you’re on the center of campus,” he said. “Knowing you are in the place to see and be seen is a good thing.”
What’s new:
East Quad:
The plan calls for a new academic quad on the east end of campus with health and science professions. This quad would enhance the border between Ball State and the village.
Ash called it a “hinge point” for Ball State.
East Mall:
A walkway called the East Mall would connect the new East Quad to north campus.
The mall would cover the area between Pruis and the Emens Garage and between Whittinger Business Building and Bracken Library.
Not all of the land needed for the East Mall and East Academic Quad, however, is owned by Ball State.
Johnson said Ball State owns 50 percent or more of the area for the Academic Quad, between Riverside and University.
Johnson said the final plan will include back up plans that can work “just as well” if the land cannot be secured in the future.
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