With Blazer Hall and the Commons on the Green now constructed and open for business, the next area of development around the Campus Green will be the Academic Building, says Executive Director of Facilities Planning Jim James.
The 95,000-gross-square-foot Academic Building will be the first academic building built in that area of campus in approximately 30 years, James says, and will anchor the northwest corner of the Green. Completion of the project is expected to be fall of 2007 with the building opening in January of 2008.
The architecture of the building will have features similar to Blazer Hall, the Commons on the Green and the Campus Recreation Center.
“It’s got some nice, curved glass features at the entries with spectacular views of the Campus Green and UAB campus,” James says of the Academic Building. “The curved-glass entry features and extensive windows not only will enhance the Academic Building, but also will help integrate it into the overall Campus Green concept and the neighboring buildings.”
The creation of the UAB Green also is under way, with the project being implemented in stages. The UAB 2000 Master Plan indicates the UAB Campus Green will consist of the blocks bordered by University Boulevard to the north, 16th Street to the east, 14th Street to the West and 10th Avenue to the south.
The Campus Green will be divided into north and south greens. When complete, the North Green is expected to be 340 feet long and 240 feet wide and include an overlook/stage. The South Green will have a 320-foot square of green space and major sidewalks with pedestrian lighting, decorative architectural landscape elements and trees. There also will be a formal garden, corner plazas with planters and a bell tower on an axis aligned with the dining plaza at the Commons on the Green.
The planning and design of the adjacent buildings, landscaping and the UAB Green have been coordinated from the beginning, according to James.
“You’re going to get a feel of a gestalt, where the sum of the buildings and the green is greater than the individual parts,” James says. “It will be a gracious and grand space for the heart of the UAB campus.”
James expects the South Green to be where future graduates go for their graduation pictures, while the North Green will be open enough to play host to concerts and other large outdoor campus activities.
Other major components of the Campus Green include a University Boulevard Entry Plaza and a 10th Avenue Entry Plaza. The proposed University Boulevard Entry Plaza is also on the axis with the bell tower and the fountain at the Commons.