UAS Master Plan 2012: Community Open House, Mar 6

The aim of these sessions is to identify key internal and external factors that are important to achieving campus planning objectives. The Master Plan looks at the physical elements of the campus, and recommendations will guide campus development for the next ten years. A campus Master Plan follows the campus Strategic Plan, which was completed in 2011.

Juneau, Alaska

Date of Press Release: March 2, 2012

This week begins the first phase of the UAS Campus Master Plan. A series of meetings with focus groups, including the Faculty Senate, Campus Community Council, Student Government, Staff Council and the Full Cabinet and a Community Open House are being held March 5-10.  Throughout the week, consultants from Perkins + Will* are gathering perspectives on campus strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that exist around UAS physical resources.

The aim of these sessions is to identify key internal and external factors that are important to achieving campus planning objectives. The Master Plan looks at the physical elements of the campus, and recommendations will guide campus development for the next ten years.   A campus Master Plan follows the campus Strategic Plan, which was completed in 2011. 

It has been about ten years since the creation of the last UAS Master Plan. In addition to the completion of UAS Strategic Plan in 2011, the recent acquisition of property, aging facilities, and changing student demographics are among a constellation of factors that require a reevaluation of the campus to determine how best it can serve the University's academic mission.

*The plan is being developed by Perkins + Will an international planning and design firm with a sustainability-based philosophy that requires examination of how projects conserve and protect natural resources, and how they affect builders and occupants.
More information can be found at: http://www.perkinswill.com

The public is invited to a Community Open House, Tuesday March 6, 3:30-5:30 p.m. at the Glacier View Room in the Egan Wing on the Auke Lake Campus.

The process to produce a Master Plan is about a 12 month effort which will occur in four phases:

• Phase 1 (January –April)– Discovery:  Observation and Analysis; Purposes, Programs, Precedents and Place.  Visit to campuses including meetings with various groups
• Phase 2 (April – June)– Conceptualization: Concept Plans - guiding principles that govern location, adjacencies, sustainability, scale and character of campus buildings, grounds and infrastructure.  Three alternative concepts will be developed;
• Phase 3 (June – September) – Synthesis: Draft Campus Plan –Develop the  preferred overall campus concept for all three campuses and test strategies;
• Phase 4 (September – December) – Documentation:  Campus plan is finalized, including illustrative detail showing existing and proposed campus improvements