The campus and the city: a design revolution explained

ABSTRACT

This contribution to design history considers a recent shift in the approach to the architecture and landscape of urban universities. Based on secondary literature and published campus master plans, the paper contrasts the mid-twentieth century concern for separation with a contemporary search for integration. Although it draws primarily on European and American examples, its topic is generic. The campus design revolution is explored and explained at three scales, first viz-à-viz the university’s urban context, then its internal layout and landscape, and finally its buildings and their use. Each scale finds a design factor to the pursuit of knowledge.

Acknowledgments

The author thanks Kadri Asmer (Tartu University), Laura A. Cruickshank (Yale University), Martin Dodge (University of Manchester), Sue Donnelly (LSE), Michael Edwards (UCL), Victor Eskinazi (Sasaki Associates and MIT), Sonja Hnilica (TUDortmund), James Hopkins (University of Manchester), Haruka Horiuchi (Rafael Viñoly Architects), KCAP Architects&Planners, Vittorio Magnago Lumpagnani (ETH Zürich), Juhan Maiste (Tartu University), Juliana Martins (UCL), Gerhard Schimak (TUWien), Wolfgang Sonne (TUDortmund), Paul V. Turner (Stanford University), Domenic Vitiello (University of Pennsylvania) and Daniel Zehnder (Novartis International AG).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.