Volume CXXXIII, Number 4 October 3, 2003 f

Campus will get facelift in coming years
BETH KOWITT
STAFF WRITER

For a year Bowdoin has been working with the planning firm Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill to consider the future of the campus over the next 50 years and anticipate the growth of the College over that time. Over the next few weeks the College will discuss these ideas more publicly in a variety of forums.

Curtis Pool will eventually become a new concert hall. (Hans Law, Bowdoin Orient)

"There's been dramatic growth in the College. That growth is inevitable and important, but we need to maintain the beauty and character of this wonderful campus," said President Barry Mills.

Philip Enquist and Doug Voigt from the planning firm have been working with students, faculty, administrators, alumni, and trustees to synthesize a plan that encompasses what is best for everyone.

"We're the masterminds and they're really the facilitators," said Mills.

Among the future projects, which will be financed by alumni contributions and debt-financing, are plans for a new hockey rink; renovation of the art museum, which is in the planning stages and will start next summer; and, what President Mills considers to be most important, the transition of Curtis Pool into a concert hall.

In addition, there are plans for the building of new dorm space near Stowe and Howard Halls over the next few years. These dorms would act as housing for first years while the first-year Bricks are renovated.

Parking is also one of the problems that Bowdoin is dealing with. "We understand that there's a parking issue and it's incumbent on us to come up with a parking plan that makes sense for the community and Brunswick as a whole," said Mills.

Disruption due to construction is inevitable but will be limited as much as possible. The disturbances caused by the renovation of the art museum will be confined to just that building, but this will not be possible for other projects such as the concert hall.

"Hopefully it will be done in a way that minimizes [disruption] for everyone who's here," said Mills. "Students are only here for four years and we want them to be able to enjoy it."

These building projects are only a few of the things on the agenda for the future, and are, according to Mills, not necessarily the most important. He said, "This is a decade about program and less about building."

Nothing has been set in stone and those involved in the project are trying to be sensitive to the long term. "We'll be discussing these ideas with the town, and they're really ideas, not immediate changes," said Mills. "We want what's in the best interest of everyone. We'll be transparent and open as ideas mature."

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