The space in front of Bailey Hall is one of the most intensely studied areas on the Cornell campus. Numerous designs have been submitted to improve what everyone generally agrees is an eyesore. One by one, these visions proved ephemeral and vanished in the churn of time.

But the $17.3 million renovation of Bailey Hall has revived calls for a new Bailey forecourt. A committee was formed, architecture firms consulted, and a preliminary plaza plan of elegant design materialized from the offices of Michael Van Valkenburgh, a 1973 graduate of Cornell's Department of Landscape Architecture. The university advanced funding for the plaza, the board of trustees approved it, and the project has now been rolled into the upcoming capital campaign.

In an hour-long session held Jan. 27 in Clark Hall, the plan was presented to more than 50 campus community members in the area affected by the plaza. Francille Firebaugh, senior consultant to the provost; University Architect Peter Karp; and William Wendt, transportation services director, introduced the preliminary design.

A public amenity

"The plaza will be a public amenity for the students, faculty and staff and a wonderful forecourt that celebrates the rebirth of Bailey Hall," said Karp, who serves on the 12-member plaza committee. "It will be a real plus for the university."

Groundbreaking for the $4.5 million project is tentatively scheduled for June after Alumni Reunion Weekend. The Italianate-style plaza will be landscaped with ornamental evergreens, Kentucky coffee trees, red-twigged dogwoods and a large rock outcrop thrusting upward at an angle complete with gently seeping waters that mimic the nearby gorges. Natural cleft and thermal finish bluestone, a more resilient type of Llenroc, will line the pedestrian pathways, and wooden benches hewn from large timbers will offer ample space for taking in the scenery.

Many at the Clark Hall meeting expressed enthusiasm and approval of the design. "I thought the design was very attractive," said Bonnie Shelley, associate director of counseling and advising in Roberts Hall. "It will be a nice addition, and I think that Bailey Hall warrants something grand like this."

But the costs of the project include the loss of some 65 parking spaces that will affect 90 permit holders in the area. That loss has elicited responses ranging from surprise and dismay about the lack of faculty and staff input in the planning to concerns about delivery vehicles, shuttle buses for Bailey events, and maintenance and handicapped parking.

Parking concerns

R. Keith Dennis, professor of mathematics, whose office is in Malott Hall, said he remains upset by the plan.

"The process was totally one-sided -- most of the departments were neither consulted nor informed," he said. "I can't speak for all, but I carry a lot of things in and out of the building quite frequently. I suspect that many faculty and staff carry a lot of stuff in and out of the building due to their various functions. Not being able to park nearby will certainly change this."

Provost Biddy Martin, whose office sponsored the plaza project, said she recognizes the frustrations of faculty, staff and students who have endured ongoing disruptions and dislocations in the area due to construction and who were not informed earlier of the plans for a plaza.

"Faculty concerns about appropriate parking and circulation have to be addressed as we move forward. At this point, Bailey Hall is the cultural center of the campus," Martin said. "The forecourt of Bailey is a pedestrian crossroads linking North Campus with Central Campus, the Arts Quad and the Ag Quad. This wonderful design turns what is now a chaotic and congested mingling of pedestrian and vehicular traffic into a lovely gathering place that complements and emphasizes the importance of Bailey Hall, of cross-college interaction and of social life on the campus."

Wendt said, "We realize that this will be very disruptive, and we will accommodate those permit holders affected to ease their transition. We are working with the colleges to make this as least disruptive as possible."

Wendt dispelled rumors that area permit holders would be reassigned to A parking lot. "We have lots of other options [for permit holders] on the central campus. If anyone wants to turn in their J permit for an A permit, we will accept it. However, we will not reassign anyone to A."

Well worth the trouble

Kathryn Gleason, chair of the landscape architecture department as well as chair of the sustainable transportation committee, also acknowledged gaps in the decision-making process.

"[But] we don't want the overall goal diminished by poor communication," she said. "This is an opportunity to transform an area that currently doesn't reflect well on Cornell into a very distinguished space. We have world leaders speak at Bailey, and often this is their first impression of the university."

Joy Jones, Malott building coordinator, wonders how much the project will impact the faculty and staff she serves. "I hope they considered how to accommodate vendors, from Pepsi trucks to Office Max, and so far it isn't clear if there will be utility shutdowns," she said.

Karp said he is working closely with the architects to ensure that delivery vehicles will have adequate access and turn-around space in the area. The design has been altered to better accommodate tractor-trailer traffic.

Joel Brock, professor and director of applied engineering and physics, said he was concerned about vibration-sensitive labs in Clark Hall and access for emergency and delivery vehicles. "I do not object to [the design] -- in fact I much prefer living and working in beautiful surroundings," he said. "However, my first concern is to ensure that the School of Applied and Engineering Physics and our various neighbors can perform our jobs. I also believe that my attitude is shared by everyone else involved in planning this project."

"What's not apparent in the design is the cost and comparative advantage -- or disadvantage -- of this particular plan versus others that might have improved the area aesthetically while preserving most of the existing parking and functionality," said John Lemley, an administrator in human resources for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, at the meeting. "Why not underground parking here for example?"

Wendt and Karp said underground parking was considered and ruled out as untenable in the area under consideration.

Herb Gottfried, professor of landscape architecture who serves on the plaza committee, said, "No solution in design is ever perfect."

"But we've gotten such a good design out of Michael Van Valkenburgh's firm, and it is really one that we can build on," Gottfried said. "This will take a nothing space and turn it into something beautiful. Yes, in the short run things will be much harder, but in the long run, parking and other issues will be resolved."

Next: A preliminary sketch plan review of the plaza will be presented to the city of Ithaca planning board Feb. 28.