DESIGN GUIDELINES & STANDARDS August 2014 UNIVERSITY of DELAWARE
Part 2: Design Guidelines
TABLE OF CONTENTS OVERVIEW CAMPUS MASTER PLAN SUSTAINABILITY PHYSICAL CAMPUS PLANNING CAMPUS BUILDING DESIGN ELEMENTS LANDSCAPE
CAMPUS MASTER PLAN A. CAMPUS PLANNING HISTORY http://www.udel.edu/thegreen/history.html Hugh Rodney Sharp, a Delaware College graduate recently appointed to the Board of Trustees, believed that his alma mater had the potential to achieve greatness, and he enlisted the support of his brother-in-law, Pierre S. du Pont, to help realize his vision. In 1915, du Pont anonymously purchased no man s land for the college. Sharp and President Samuel Chiles Mitchell then moved quickly to hire the nation s most distinguished architects of collegiate structures, Frank Miles Day and his partner, Charles Z. Klauder, to provide a development plan for the newly acquired land. Day and Klauder had earned their reputation by designing buildings in the then-popular Gothic style for such prestigious clients as Princeton, Yale, Cornell and the University of Pennsylvania. But, the architects proved equally at home in the colonial Georgian idiom that Rodney Sharp thought suitable for the First State. Rodney Sharp loved Delaware s rich architectural heritage. Throughout the state, venerable buildings of brick and wood recalled their 18th-century builders respect for classical antiquity and its supreme virtues of symmetry, proportion, and balance. At Sharp s suggestion, Frank Miles Day traveled Delaware s dusty roads to make notes on architectural design motifs that he would later incorporate into buildings along this Green. The most important first step in the transformation of no man s land was not the design of any particular building, but rather the design of the new campus itself. Drawing on the concepts of symmetry and balance so dear to the 18th century, especially as they had been so elegantly and impressively realized in Thomas Jefferson s design for the Lawn at the University of Virginia, Frank Day conceived of the plan for The Green to begin at Main Street and converge on a large central building that would be capped by a massive rotunda. The Green was to extend beyond the central building to unite the men s campus with the women s campus. Today, you see before you the Day and Klauder plan of 1917, only slightly revised in this version of 1928, which is remarkably like the finished product
For downloadable versions of the university s previous master plans, please click on the following link: http://www.facilities.udel.edu/campusplans.aspx
SUSTAINABILITY Enduring, Efficient, Effective, Adaptable, Engaging and Meaningful are the principles that must guide every project. It follows that sustainable design is the only option for the University. The campus has long held a tradition to build and renovate facilities that will never be decommissioned or sold. The facilities must be operated and maintained efficiently within the larger setting that they are safe, healthful, accessible, and beautiful. For the University of Delaware, sustainability must first speak of using every resource to its greatest extent, looking for the best long term value and being cautious with aesthetic and technical experiments that may not hold up over the long term life of a building. The University of Delaware recognizes that USGBC s LEED rating system is the most common and frequently used standard for evaluating sustainability of a building and its environment. We do not require that we pursue accreditation of projects; every project is required to reflect these guidelines. It is expected that a rigorous sustainability strategy will be initiating during concept and schematic design of a project and continue throughout design, documentation, construction and occupancy. We put special value on passive systems that emphasize appropriate siting, sun shading, efficient exterior envelope design, and economy and conservation of resources. Most importantly, sustainability must address the projects ability to be long lasting. Materials and methods that are of superior quality and durability, have minimal or no negative environmental impact in manufacture, installation, use or disposal. Most importantly, our sustainability is led by our capabilities. In 2012, Delaware was ranked 33rd in the country for state expenditure per full time student. Maintenance and repair funding is extremely limited. The university has just completed its first new academic building in more twenty years. There is an extensive list of deferred maintenance for many of our most important buildings. That is, when we do get capital funding, we need to be very careful to produce buildings with the best long term value for the University of Delaware. They must be energy efficient, minimize impact to the environment, provide for a healthful environment that is accessible, comfortable, and safe, and has components of sound control/management, fresh air, and best decisions for using natural and artificial lighting, temperature control. Capital work must include efficiencies of energy, maintenance, water, materials, and cost.
PHYSICAL CAMPUS PLANNING DESIGN PRINCIPLES Every building and every project needs to feel like it belongs to the University of Delaware. As one of the oldest universities in the country, the architecture of the campus was specific to our identity. Tall masonry buildings with little dimensional articulation, each building creates a strong sense of figure /ground with strong entry sequences notated with large columns and porticoes. Although, much has been written about the Georgian architecture of the campus, it is the relationship among the buildings, the sequence and approach to each building and the strong reading of the University s history from Old College to the addition and renovation of Mechanical Hall that are the unique qualities of the University of Delaware. That is what is essential to respect and that we build upon this core identity. These guidelines are intended to provide parameters for all design decision at all phases of a project. When used in conjunction with the Master Plan, the Landscape Standards and the Building and Construction Standards, they identify the challenges of designing here. They help ensure the consistency in the buildings and grounds of the campus, providing a definitive sense of place, usefulness, and intent that is widely valued and aligned with the Facilities Operations and Maintenance and, in general, the Universities goals.
The following guidelines provide criteria for the design of buildings and landscape. The intent is to provide design guidance to architects and their consultants. They will serve, as well, as a means of evaluating the suitability and appropriateness of the proposed designs. The guidelines are not a style guide or a catalog of parts. The intent is to create a framework within which buildings and grounds will develop with common references for process, aesthetics and quality. They define a sense of place that is derived from the existing buildings and the natural forces of weather, water and geology. For new buildings applying the guidelines requires considering the requirements of usefulness, various programs, and technological developments. The result should be that the buildings reinforce and are integral to the architecture of the campus. Work should create a synergy among the buildings and the community.
Use of the Standards should be considered general, flexible and open to interpretation. We hope to foster a creative and collaborative partnership between the university and the architect. Our hope is that all projects, from the smallest renovation to a major project, that purposeful and innovative Pursue creative and truthful design. The physical perception of the architecture of the campus is critical to the culture of the University, to its ability to recruit students and a faculty, and to the accomplishment of its mission. The architecture must be responsive to its history and conserve the qualities of the campus that are cherished. In adaptive reuse of existing buildings, acknowledge the historic structure and the contemporary functions to be housed within. Avoid literal interpretations of historic buildings. Buildings must be made of enduring materials, systems and components that require minimal maintenance. Materials and components should be readily available and use common methods of maintenance and replacement. Designs must be responsive to the needs and functional requirements of the University as a whole, as well as specific users. Express function in the design concept of the building through form and organization. Designs must strive for construction that provides the greatest long-term value for the money spent, not necessarily the least expensive solution. Designs must provide a safe, healthful, accessible environment, complying with or exceeding all applicable codes and regulations. Designs must strive to use energy efficient systems and components. Designs must make efficient and appropriate use of limited campus space and land. Building design and siting should accommodate convenient pedestrian circulation and universal access. Designs must consider the impact to the environment, not only within the campus, but the safety of materials, where materials are acquired from and disposed to, and the energy use in the process. Design with the knowledge that our buildings must be adaptable to changes in the function and operation over time. The buildings need to serve generations, not just current personalities. Express the structural rhythm of the structure. Express entrances and areas that students and groups will gather. Provide weather protection at entries. Detailing should convey a building s function, contemporary use of technology and the nature of materials, structure and systems used. Details should also address scale and provide multiple levels of perception from varying distances. Where appropriate, green roofs should be considered. Roof-mounted equipment should be screened from view with some carefully reviewed exceptions in which systems are visually acceptable and appropriate to the building type. Select and locate all equipment and accessories for easy routine servicing and feasibility of major servicing, including removal and replacement of equipment.