Campus Building Analysis: Residential

Much of UNC Greensboro’s residential halls are located in North Central campus with the exception of both the Spring Garden Apartments and Tower Village. The concentration of residential halls has been classified as a residential district due to their relative proximity to each other (some of them are quite secluded). According to the current UNCG master plan, there are future plans for two residential halls on the parcel of land currently used for freshman parking, adjacent to Tower Village and across from a student recreation field. The proposed residential hall closest to Spring Garden is planned to have approximately 96,000 square feet with 1 occupant for every 325 gross square feet (about 295 students). The second is much larger at 130,000 square feet with the same occupant per gross square footage mentioned above (400 students).


With the possible addition of these residential halls, UNCG increases the potential for a secondary residential district on the southern edge of campus. Unfortunately this opportunity for increased density also creates a problem for parking. In adding these halls, UNCG loses a substantial number of surface parking spaces. If the new building designs follow a similar, seemingly successful, solution to that of the Spring Garden Apartments (mixed use with sub-level parking) then there should be minimal impact on commuters.

It should also be mentioned that the Spring Garden/Aycock intersection is a major gateway into campus. With increased student housing, there is opportunity for increased student activity and economic development around that newly developed district. Should one of the design teams choose the part of our studio’s Lee Street site adjacent to this gateway (Lee/Aycock intersection and corner parcel), integrating student activities or housing into the optional mixed-use part of the program would be something to consider for this location.
The residential halls on campus come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The older halls average about 200 net square feet per student occupant. While opinions vary on the subject of whether to live on campus or not from student to student, a majority of upperclassmen (and women) choose to live off campus because of the desire for more personal space. It is UNCG’s goal to attract more students to live on campus, regardless of their year classification. With that in mind, UNCG has recently taken the intiative in that realm by redeveloping the Spring Garden Street Apartments, offering over twice the average net square footage per student occupant (457) as well as offering sub-level parking. With larger housing options available, upperclassmen will be more likely to reconsider on campus living as opposed to comperable off-campus options.

texture, tactile experience with artifacts

How could I forget my toys? Wonderful objects they are...some structurally fragile, others cold to the touch. All of them have one thing in common: a unique tactile and textural opportunity. Even the artifacts made of the same material or are of the same "type" all hold a special experience by themselves, almost like a personal genetic code. The two items shown here were once very important to a train car but were discarded and forgotten about, much like everything else we found on our adventure.
If I had to take a guess, I'd say this device once connected and held two train cars together (not by itself of course). The iron latch, aside from its rusting outer layer, is in better shape relative to the rest of the other artifact material types. It carries a heavy appearance, a solid mass that weighs just as much as it looks.
Moving the latches on the end is still fairly easy as they surprisingly haven't rusted tight. One can only imagine the immense tension occurring within this locking device between two train cars. Running my fingers across several areas, it reminded me of sand paper although there was a substantial difference between the different mechanisms.
The sides have a finer feel then the center faces, perhaps because of a combination of the object's center of gravity (central mechanism) and inability to stay upright. The joints are distinctly rougher then the various surface areas.
Tiny craters seem to be in high concentration in that area but are also scattered about the entire artifact, like there is some sort of organism that can eat through the metal and carve out a home. The serial number is still visible and offers its own identity to my finger tips, subtle depressions in the iron skin allowing me to read without my eyes....

The second artifact, the train car wheel break...another device of action. How many breaks are there on a single train car? On a whole train (cars included)? The amount of force required to stop an object with such tremendous momentum is unbelievable...not so much when there are a couple hundred breaks to help out I suppose.
It seems to be a composition of iron and type of ceramic (break surface). While the iron side has a similar sand paper texture to our first artifact, some of the skin is flaky and easily chipped off when brushed up against. There also appears to be a decal of some sort although I can't tell what it is anymore because of the deterioration caused by the hostile environment it was in.
The cylindrical negative space has the same ceramic surface as the pad on the underside of the break. Both are severely cracked and fractured, worn down by the numerous times it was responsible for applying pressure to the wheels of the train car.
The smaller perpendicular cross opening in the cylindrical form might have been where another mechanical piece was connected to another form within the negative space.
This was my favorite part about the break...it actually looks like it might be a map. No X marks the spot for buried treasure.

Maybe next time.

Running the line with a Sagebrush Philosopher

I give credit to Matt Jones for finding the hobo terminology.
Friday afternoon after our meal at Beef Burger, Matt and I took a stroll down the tracks between Oakland avenue and Lee street. We came across countless "artifacts" ranging from rail road spikes and various metal parts to items that hobos had left behind on their journeys on the track. We couldn't carry all of the stuff we found so we piled it up on the Oakland side next to the fence so we could come back and drag it under afterwards. I'm not quite sure what we'll do with this stuff but I'm sure something will come to mind. The three tallest landmarks on this edge of campus are visible from Lee street: the stack from the physical plant, the telecommunications tower, and the water tower.

We found what appeared to be an abandoned rail road track on the Lee street side. Trees and bushes had grown up around the rails, hiding it from view unless you got within close proximity. The rails also appear to be a different style then the ones currently used. 
We were passed by a few trains during our field trip and I must say that they can be pretty quiet. I always thought they were loud but one time I didn't even know a train was coming until I looked up from inspecting a rail road spike. It was still a couple hundred yards away and there was plenty of time to move but the thought of being killed by a train passed through my mind a few times on this trip (how embarrassing would that be). The first train was traveling much slower but sounded louder (the conductor blew his horn and waved at us). The second was traveling much faster (30-40 mph?) but seemed to sneak up on us. I wonder why that is...


I've always been a fan of train car graffiti. I think its a wonderful form of communication (artists getting an audience in other cities and states) and art. The tags vary in size and detail. Some of the tags I've photographed seem like they would have taken hours to create. Although the thought of breaking into a train yard at night (or day I guess) and tagging a car seems pretty exciting, I don't really like it enough to chance having a felony on my record. Maybe if I say its a studio project they will let me off the hook. Until then I'll leave it to the professionals. 

We came across a lot of airplane bottles, bum wine bottles, interesting pieces of wood, and animal bones. We've got samples up in the studio of everything we came across. 







We crossed paths with a traveler (man in the yellow jacket). He had some rather friendly words for us but I'm not sure they are appropriate in this forum. Ask if you want to know, it was funny.

The artifacts we acquired represent this "no man's land" in between Oakland avenue and Lee street. Everything there seems discarded and forgotten.