University of Virginia Library

The Maximum Use Of Space

(64) Let these lounges be flexibly furnished with enough
chairs and cushions and pillows so as to be serviceable for
classes two or three hours in the morning and again in the
afternoon; let there be adjacent to each of these lounges a
small kitchen and dining room specializing in some unique
menu available nowhere else on the campus (pizza in one,
Lupo-type sandwiches in one, eggs and pancakes in another);
let there be film projection equipment and PA equipment in
each of them, available for meetings and programs. In short,
since a few decentralized lounges and snack places will be
needed anyway, locate and furnish these such that everything
will be ready in case a sense of "neighborhood" seems to want
to develop at various places in our campus. Possibly a cluster
of students and faculty will gather at the pizza place on
Tuesday night as a regular thing, for supper and discussion.
Anther group clusters over pancakes Sunday noon to exchange
the New York Times. A cell of Marxists (tendency Groucho)
gathers late Thursday evening to see old time flicks and munch
Dagwood sandwiches. These little groups would very likely be
organized by people in the rooms near the respective lounges
(hence the fostering of "neighborhood" feeling), but it isn't
likely that a sense of exclusiveness would prevail.

(65) The food emphasis, by the way, seems frivolous, but
the premise is that this will be an important way of fostering
contentment in the relative isolation of Birdwood. I myself see
nothing really attractive in the traditional residential college
concept of "all coming together under one roof for meals
three times a day." But then I've never experienced it. I do
know that variety in menu is pretty important to people in our
day, as well as variety in atmosphere. Even if you couldn't
afford to keep them open seven days a week, three meals a day
(with extended evening hours), the separate little dining spots
would do a great deal to maintain student and faculty
satisfaction. It's one thing to be able to say, "I'm in the mood
to stroll through the plaza and end up at the pancake place for
a chocolate waffle." It's quite another thing to have to say
night after night, "Aaaagh! Wonder what's at the old cafeteria
this time."

(66) All right. So much for a small vision of what might be
worth thinking about in terms of a total design concept and
also a few of the integral components. Suppose we consider
briefly a few other small touches that might well appear to be
trivial and "cosmetic" but which it seems to me should be
thought about and considered as further integral parts of our
whole campus. These are the kinds of things that fall halfway
between policies and potential traditions and have their chief
justification in need.

(67) There will be a need for some minimal core library, if
only to serve the courses taught, without any pretense at