The UNCG Experience

In class we used certain aspects to analyze the design similarities and differences of the  acropolis with the xianyang palace. These ten concepts are space, power, experience, principles, precedent, site, order, scale, technology, and surface. These ideas can also be used to define UNCG's layout and design. 


SPACE
 The campus space is neatly divided into living quarters, educational buildings, eating areas, etc. The main street, Spring Garden Street, branches off to the recreation center, cafeteria, dorms, and Tate Street (campus's go to street for eats, tobacco products, coffee, and art supplies). The space is 200 acres and approximatively rectangular in shape. The space has a traditional lay out to an effective measure.



EXPERIENCE
The campus is set up to be walked through. Brick paths weave around the buildings, making for very scenic and pleasant strolls to class and a straight path cuts from Spring Garden all the way through campus to the music building. The brick buildings and magnolia trees make the overall experience visual pleasing and seem fit for studying. University Avenue add a sense of community since many of the dorms look out on each other and walk the same routes to and from classes. The fountain gives students an area to relax by and a meeting place to connect with their friends. The campus has a friendly, intimate feel, despite the medium size it is.



PRINCIPLES
Education is, of course, the ultimate purpose of the school, and this is made evident by the layout. The library is placed in a prime spot, in the middle of campus. Educational buildings are sprinkled throughout the campus, surrounding all other activity, just in case one forgets why they are here. The Curry building is the view one receives from the one long trek up campus, again focusing on the educational aspect of UNCG. 


PRECEDENT
The ghosts of graduates past keep a section of UNCG to themselves with personalized bricks that alert current students to their legacies. Older building like the Foust building (finished in 1892) speak of a rich past and a promise for a bright future. The clock tower and rocks hold traditions long followed and add to the back-story Greensboro has.


SITE
UNCG is situated in an ideal location; walking distance from the downtown area, but very much a traditional college campus. Greensboro manages to be driving distance to both mountains and beaches, making it a suitable location for a large amount of people. UNCG is a happy compromise between a neighborhood and city setting. It doesn't settle on mountains or beaches or city, but puts each option in reasonable proximity. 


ORDER
There are grouping of living quarters, school buildings and eateries, but they are scattered throughout the campus. Most of the living areas are pushed back on campus, placing the school building further up in the campus layout. The library, cafeteria, and EUC are shuffled into the middle, somewhere in between individual living and studies. The music building, a major highly at UNCG, is given a space in isolation from other buildings, tucked away in a forest.


SCALE
The living areas are vertically-structured high-rises for the most part, whereas many of the educational buildings and more horizontally built. Other than that, most of the buildings are similar sizes. 


TECHNOLOGY
In the Art building especially, UNCG has provided top notch technology in the form of Mac computer labs. UNCG has many computer labs for student use, an online pharmacy option, and alerts students through text messages when their laundry is done. However, as far as buildings go, building technology seems to be lacking. Students seem excited about alternative energy sources and eco-friendly actions, but UNCG hasn't yet pushed for those things in campus life. Maybe with new energies on the rise UNCG will try some new things like solar energy in the future.


SURFACE
The surfaces in UNCG are predominantly brick with the exception of the MHRA and Gatewood buildings.