Introducing the Arts Quad
An evolving “arts quad” in the center of campus will bring together student services and offer more pedestrian-friendly space. Roughly bounded by the Humanities complex and the Hodges Library on the east and the Music Building and Student Health Clinic to the west, the arts quad will include:
- a new residence hall;
- expansions of the Music Building, the Joe Johnson-John Ward Pedestrian Mall, and the Student Health Clinic;
- renovation of Melrose Hall; and
- eventual expansions of the Art and Architecture Building and Clarence Brown Theatre.
Traditional architecture and people-friendly space will define future campus development.
“Pedestrian flow, green space, and sustainability are uppermost in our plans,” says Chancellor Loren Crabtree. “If we make more of our buildings ‘green,’ we’ll save money over the long term. As a university, we have a responsibility to set high standards. Our students, faculty, and alumni expect that and deserve it.”
Plans for the arts quad and other new projects are based on projections of steady enrollment growth over the coming decade.
The 650-student residence hall—the campus’s first new dorm since 1969—will take about a year to design and two years to complete. It will be located behind the Black Cultural Center and will include a large dining facility. The expanded Student Health Clinic will provide space to bring together services now scattered throughout the campus. The renovation of venerable Melrose Hall will result in new space for the Student Success Center and the Center for International Education.
Also, a 1,200-space parking garage will be built west of Stokely Athletic Center. The campus landmark Rock, message board for generations of students, will be incorporated into the site design.
“The Music Building also will be expanded as quickly as possible” using state and private funds, says Vice Chancellor Denise Barlow.
Do you have comments about plans for the future of the campus? E-mail torch@tennessee.edu.