Master plan guiding principals:
1. Preserve and reinvigorate the Quad.
2. Use architecture and landscapes to attract students and faculty.
3. Design spaces that foster interdisciplinary cooperation.
4. Prioritize sustainability, especially carbon neutrality and water balance goals.
5. Promote a pedestrian-oriented campus with appropriately scaled buildings, accessibility, safety and alternative transportation.
6. Memorable and attractive campus space.
7. Improve relationship with community through shared resources.
8. Best use of land resources.
9. Maintain flexibility for the future.
10. Consider initial costs, life cycle costs and return on investment.
Source: Randy Howard, vice president of business affairs
• Steering committee released master plan guiding principles: walkability, sustainability and preservation.
• The plan is now in the third of five stages: idea generation.
• Students can comment on what they view as important at masterplan.bsu.edu.
Walkability, sustainability and preservation will be guiding principles for Ball State’s future.
After feedback from open forum sessions and hundreds of online suggestions, the steering committee released the master plan’s guiding principles.
The plan is now in the third of five stages, which is idea generation, said Gregory Graham, director of facilities planning.
The principles were based on open feedback sessions and masterplan.bsu.edu, which generated hundreds of feedback comments.
Now, the committee is seeking feedback on these principles via the website. Participants can vote on which guiding principle they find most important.
Currently, the top three priorities are walkability of campus, physical connection with the community and preserving and enhancing architecture.
The top priority, walkability, includes the scale of buildings, accessibility, safety and alternate transportation.
One online comment suggested Ball State “build up” in the future instead of “building out.”
“Ball State has succeeded at being a strong suburban campus,” George K. wrote. “But now that the campus appears to be ‘growing up’ the new direction should be more urban. This idea would help students access more things with less walking and also make the campus look [prettier].”
The plan also emphasizes sustainability. Graham said this is a long-term goal of Ball State, which may cost more in the short-term, but will save money.
Consulting firm SmithGroupJJR is putting the plan together. Consultants will be on campus at the end of the month to present specific ideas to students and faculty and get feedback.
The plan, which comes at a $500,000 cost to the university, will be presented to the Board of Trustees in its final form in April 2014.
Graham said once the plan is approved, some items will be implemented. Other items will not be addressed until five or 10 years down the road.
“[We’re] looking at what should we do, [what] we want to be doing as an institution in the foreseeable future, midterm future or even near future,” he said. “These principles are the things [the university] ought to be keeping in back of mind for every decision [we] make for campus physical master plan.”
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