University of Virginia Library

Reassessment

A strong sentiment by the
entire University cannot be ignored.
While there is not space to reassess
the whole Lambeth Field problem
and its many implications, we can
look objectively at the relationship
of high-rise dormitories to this site
and to the whole University.

At this time in the University's
development it is crucial that the
next housing complex provide an
environment that will maintain and
enhance the small personal scale
and close interaction that has
characterized this University in the
past. This is especially true in light
of the tremendous growth which
has been projected. Lambeth Field
may well be the last possible
location for student housing that
could still be an integral part of the
University community. Surely the
Birdwood tract does not have this
attraction. The construction of
high-rise dormitories would be a
regressive step in the drive to
maintain student identities within
the total University community.
These towering monuments would
tend to make their many
inhabitants merely numbers rather
than individual students with
individual needs and desires.

People create a definite hierarchy
of identification levels in a living
community. They do this in order
to define their own niche in
relation to the total environment.
The arbitrary construction of
high-rise dorms tends to disrupt
these identity levels by grouping
large numbers of people together in
a relatively small space without
providing the proper means of
interaction. Such a project
constructed on Lambeth Field
would have these undesirable
results and would disastrously
diminish the character and identity
of the space involved.

The University of Virginia is an
institution steeped in tradition, and
one of the strongest traditions is its
architectural character. Since
Jefferson's original scheme, most
construction has maintained the
strong architectural presence laid
out by the founder of the
University. One of the major
elements of this character that has
been preserved is the small scale of
the buildings. Yet, the construction
of high-rise dormitories would be
antithetical to this quality.
Lambeth Field has already
established a small-scale
environment including the
Colonnade on the east and the
residential area on the north. The
total homogeneous architectural
character of the University would
suffer noticeably it high-rise
dormitories were constructed on
this critical site.