Outdoor Classrooms Take Shape at the School of Architecture

by Derry Wade
September 1, 2004

In 1999, Dean Karen Van Lengen chaired a team that produced a feasibility study for creating additions to Campbell Hall designed by several members of the School’s faculty. Since that time, several distinct projects have been developed by faculty members in collaboration with students, colleagues, and the architect of record, SMBW Architects.

A pair of outdoor classroom spaces designed and built by Professor of Architecture Peter Waldman and his students in collaboration with other faculty members is the most recent component of the addition to Campbell Hall to be constructed (August, 2004). “The Eric Goodwin Passage” is located adjacent to the North Terrace, aligned on one side with an interior corridor of Campbell Hall and on the other with the tree memorializing Carlo Pelliccia, a much admired professor at the School. Eric Goodwin was a member of the Class of 2002 who passed away during his final year of study at the School of Architecture. In 2002, his classmates established the Eric Goodwin Memorial Fund to support Design/Build projects designed by faculty to be installed at Campbell Hall.

The North Terrace project is a study in opposing and symbiotic themes. Prof. Waldman and his students incorporated two walls with circular openings, on either side of a slim passage. The larger of the walls, to the east, is dark grey in color, and stands at a dynamic 83-degree angle. The smaller wall, to the west, has a yellow tone, and stands straight at 90-degrees. In part, the larger grey wall is positioned short of vertical to recall the tilt-concrete method by which the walls were poured, set, and later raised from the ground.

Each wall marks a place for a different type of activity. The “rooms” are located outdoors, but provide a semi-sheltered environment evocative of interior spaces. The east side, sheltered from the afternoon sun by the larger wall and a vine scrim roof, is a public space complete with a seminar table for presentations, group discussions, and social gatherings. During afternoon studio (2-6pm), the wall can be used as a pin-up space. The west side is a more private, contemplative space with a bench for seating and a smaller surface area for more intimate conversation and solitary reflection. Both walls are supported by a series of pipes forming a trellis, which will also serve as a frame for the ivy and wisteria to be planted there. In between the walls, the narrow passage floor is lined with oyster shells to create a distinct texture underfoot recalling Eric Goodwin’s love of the beach.

Prof. Waldman noted that the project’s intention “is very similar to what the ancients did at Stonehenge. We are reinforcing the connection with the sun. The very first lesson of architecture is to locate yourself in respect to the passage of the sun and moon.” The large circular openings in each wall create fascinating shadows and concentrated beams of sunlight at various points throughout the day. The project aligns with true north, and thus gives a point of departure for studies of light and shadow. Prof. Waldman expects that over time students will install brass plaques to indicate the equinox and other astronomical phenomena.

This past spring, students in Prof. Waldman’s ARCH 402 studio worked through various options for the design. Ground was broken in early June, and two recent graduates Sam Beall and Jennifer Finley, and a first-year graduate student in architecture, Justin Walton, built the project with Prof. Waldman and the assistance of volunteers. The students went through the gamut of presentations to the governing bodies of the university in order to secure permission to build. They researched solar and lunar phases to assist in the siting of the project. And, they kept careful documentation of every stage of the design development and construction process.

The project is especially appropriate to launch the construction of the building addition since it is an excellent example of the intersections between architecture and landscape architecture that are being explored in the new collaborative department of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Several faculty members contributed to the overall design.

A public dedication ceremony was held on September 27, 2004 attended by the Goodwin Family, representatives of the class of 2002, donors of goods and services, and faculty, students and staff of the School of Architecture.

The Eric Goodwin Passage was made possible by grants from Allied Concrete, the W.L. Lyons Brown Jr. Charitable Foundation, and The Eric Goodwin Memorial Fund at the School of Architecture.