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(01/22/01 3:56am)
WASHINGTON -- We came to support Bush some came to see the spectacle, but in the early morning hours, people along the inaugural parade route had other intentions.\n The crowd of protesters grew restless after two hours of waiting in the rain. Early reports said Pennsylvania Avenue was controlled by protesters and that there were few Bush supporters in attendance on the street.\nAs security at checkpoints tightened, conversations between protesters suggested that their right to peaceably assemble might be denied for the appearance of a peaceful transition of power. Protesters questioned whether Pennsylvania Avenue would be treated as a public street or presidential property.\n"They won't let us into Freedom Plaza, because they've got checkpoints," announced a protest organizer over a megaphone. "There were some black people in Florida on Nov. 7. They couldn't get to the polls because there was a checkpoint. The police stopped 'em so they couldn't vote," he continued.\nAllegations of racism in the Florida elections brought many to Washington, some bearing signs which read, "Bush = racism." The chant, "racist, sexist, anti-gay, Bush and Cheney go away" was common. The Black Panther party, dressed in black, with patches of Africa on their shoulders, also appeared to protest the inauguration.\nMany protesters, irate at anti-Iraq sanctions, have not forgotten the role former President George Bush had in the affair. "Hey Bush, we know you, your father was a killer, too" some protesters chanted.\nSigns reflected the varied attitudes of the protesters. Many came with a specific agenda, but all disagreed with what they perceived as an unfair election.\nMany hoped to take advantage of the media coverage to gain publicity for their ideals. Some recognized that demonstrating along the restricted area of the parade route would make them impossible to ignore.\nEllen Shade, a protester from Taos, N.M., made her views clear: "I call him Governor Death," she said. "He's not my president." \nMany protesters in the crowd were incensed at George W. Bush's record on the death penalty. After presiding over more than 150 executions, Bush's compassion is viewed skeptically. "Stop me before I kill again" read one sign -- a picture of George W. Bush superimposed over a stop sign.\nMany supporters, angry at Bush's environmental record in Texas and frightened by his promises to drill oil in Alaska, protested that he had been elected through corporate sponsorship.\nAlong Pennsylvania Avenue, protesters cried out that this is not democracy. Many saw the police presence as excessive -- D.C. police were lined four deep and two feet apart between 12th and 13th streets and Pennsylvania Avenue. A total of 7,000 police officers monitored the crowds. Platoons of about 40 groups patrolled up and down the street, and members of the armed forces marched two abreast through the ranks of police officers.\nProtest organizers kept each other in check. One said over a megaphone, "An endless stream of rumors. You hear a rumor, a few blocks up, people are being arrested. And then, we all turn around and run to where those people are being arrested. What's the net effect of that? It's that we've lost the area we're fighting to get." \n"When the riot police arrived, protesters had their video cameras out in two seconds flat," Robin Larsen, a Bloomington resident said.\nNorth of Pennsylvania Avenue, over the pounding of drums and the chanting of protesters, Christina Poughkeepsie, originally from New Hampshire but now a resident of the Phillipines, said that she was excited about changing the state.\n"We need change," she said. "We need positive change." Christina is a veteran of the large D.C. protest over the International Monetary Fund in April of last year.\nAbout 20,000 protesters were expected, and the protest was the largest inaugural protest since anti-Vietnam protesters flooded Richard Nixon's second inauguration in 1973.\nThe protesters gathered in the steady drizzle Saturday had many smaller messages, but were united under one message: George W. Bush did not represent their interests. \nOne chant reflected their optimism -- "Ain't no power but the power of the people, and the power of the people don't stop"
(12/07/00 5:00am)
"The white building with its different colors and designs, is kind of a pop art concept -- a wild juxtaposition of colors and purposeful imbalancing."\nRon Reinoehl, PR Director for the Musical Arts Center\nIndianapolis Star Magazine, 1972\nInside is vibrant. Walls sprayed in plaster are painted brilliant red, and restless purple carpet, hatched in orange, comes alive from the floor. Chairs in the lobby appear to have been melted.\nAbove all, it is one of the nation's top opera facilities. \nThe Musical Arts Center was designed with technical excellence in mind. Before committing to its design, architect Evans Woolens studied theatres in the United States and Europe for two years. It seats just around 1,500 people, that magical number which has been such a success in European opera houses. No seat is more than 90 feet away from the stage.\nArchitect Frank Gehry, designer of the Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain, and the Experience Music Project in Seattle, asserts that buildings look best when they are incomplete. \nIn a sense, the MAC looks incomplete. Its sides, made of board-formed concrete, have a rough appearance. The boards' grains are in the walls, each individual knot pressed deep into the concrete. The building doesn't look specific, doesn't have a shape readily assimilated by the eye.\nIn 1972, New York Times writer Harold Schonberg called it a "Camelot on the campus". \nIt's not quite that. Maybe a concrete Camelot. But IU's has a glass front, portholes on the towers and dark, narrow hallways. It has graphics painted on the walls.\nInside, vermillion red, shocking pink, purple and orange combine together. Here is the MAC's true miracle. In another building the colors would not react, would shock, would disgust. In the MAC, they create warmth. They create a secure, comfortable place.\nPeople entering the MAC are greeted by a bright red statue made of steel. \nInternationally famous sculptor Alexander Calder created that statue, entitled "Peau Rouge Indiana," translated as "Indiana Redskin."\nExistentialist Jean Paul Sartre described Calder's art in 1974. "Calder suggests nothing. He catches real, live movements and fashions them… In a word, although Calder has not sought to imitate anything -- because he has not wanted to do anything but to create scales and chords of unknown movements -- they are lyrical inventions."\nCalder is famous as a modern artist who created a new art form -- the mobile.\nTwo large banners hang within the spacious lobby, designed by George Ortman, former head of the painting department at Michigan's Cranbrook School of the Arts, famous for its involvement with internationally renowned architect Eliel Saarinen.\nChancellor Herman B Wells labored to secure funding for the MAC, working against the objection of Indiana's governor at the time, Roger D. Branigin. Wells managed to secure most of the funding for the Musical Arts Center through private gifts.\nIn 1973, South Bend's Michiana Magazine captured Wells' advice on architecture. The chancellor instructed his architects: "When you build, build for a long time… build for 1,000 years. Do not build structures which will be cast away by tomorrow's fashion."\nThe MAC's facilities set it a world apart from its competitors on the college level and rank it one of the best opera houses in the United States. \nNew York Times writer Harold Schonberg described the MAC's sound in 1972. "As an acoustic installation, the Musical Arts Center ranks with any in the country... the sound is pure. There is an even throw, the bass is full and resonant, everything has a natural quality." \nThe MAC -- which also houses classrooms, rehearsal rooms, studios, a ballet center and administrative offices, puts Indiana opera firmly on the Midwest map.\nOr as Time magazine described it in 1972, "The (Indiana University) opera department compares with some of its rivals the way a 747 jet compares with a Piper Cub."\nFormer School of Music Dean Wilfred C. Bain sums up why its important to have a state-of-the-art building. \n"You must have a physical plant to back you up if you are to train at the top level. I am not talking about the thickness of the carpet or the aesthetic effect of an impressive lobby. I am talking about the facilities"
(12/07/00 4:15am)
"The white building with its different colors and designs, is kind of a pop art concept -- a wild juxtaposition of colors and purposeful imbalancing."\nRon Reinoehl, PR Director for the Musical Arts Center\nIndianapolis Star Magazine, 1972\nInside is vibrant. Walls sprayed in plaster are painted brilliant red, and restless purple carpet, hatched in orange, comes alive from the floor. Chairs in the lobby appear to have been melted.\nAbove all, it is one of the nation's top opera facilities. \nThe Musical Arts Center was designed with technical excellence in mind. Before committing to its design, architect Evans Woolens studied theatres in the United States and Europe for two years. It seats just around 1,500 people, that magical number which has been such a success in European opera houses. No seat is more than 90 feet away from the stage.\nArchitect Frank Gehry, designer of the Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain, and the Experience Music Project in Seattle, asserts that buildings look best when they are incomplete. \nIn a sense, the MAC looks incomplete. Its sides, made of board-formed concrete, have a rough appearance. The boards' grains are in the walls, each individual knot pressed deep into the concrete. The building doesn't look specific, doesn't have a shape readily assimilated by the eye.\nIn 1972, New York Times writer Harold Schonberg called it a "Camelot on the campus". \nIt's not quite that. Maybe a concrete Camelot. But IU's has a glass front, portholes on the towers and dark, narrow hallways. It has graphics painted on the walls.\nInside, vermillion red, shocking pink, purple and orange combine together. Here is the MAC's true miracle. In another building the colors would not react, would shock, would disgust. In the MAC, they create warmth. They create a secure, comfortable place.\nPeople entering the MAC are greeted by a bright red statue made of steel. \nInternationally famous sculptor Alexander Calder created that statue, entitled "Peau Rouge Indiana," translated as "Indiana Redskin."\nExistentialist Jean Paul Sartre described Calder's art in 1974. "Calder suggests nothing. He catches real, live movements and fashions them… In a word, although Calder has not sought to imitate anything -- because he has not wanted to do anything but to create scales and chords of unknown movements -- they are lyrical inventions."\nCalder is famous as a modern artist who created a new art form -- the mobile.\nTwo large banners hang within the spacious lobby, designed by George Ortman, former head of the painting department at Michigan's Cranbrook School of the Arts, famous for its involvement with internationally renowned architect Eliel Saarinen.\nChancellor Herman B Wells labored to secure funding for the MAC, working against the objection of Indiana's governor at the time, Roger D. Branigin. Wells managed to secure most of the funding for the Musical Arts Center through private gifts.\nIn 1973, South Bend's Michiana Magazine captured Wells' advice on architecture. The chancellor instructed his architects: "When you build, build for a long time… build for 1,000 years. Do not build structures which will be cast away by tomorrow's fashion."\nThe MAC's facilities set it a world apart from its competitors on the college level and rank it one of the best opera houses in the United States. \nNew York Times writer Harold Schonberg described the MAC's sound in 1972. "As an acoustic installation, the Musical Arts Center ranks with any in the country... the sound is pure. There is an even throw, the bass is full and resonant, everything has a natural quality." \nThe MAC -- which also houses classrooms, rehearsal rooms, studios, a ballet center and administrative offices, puts Indiana opera firmly on the Midwest map.\nOr as Time magazine described it in 1972, "The (Indiana University) opera department compares with some of its rivals the way a 747 jet compares with a Piper Cub."\nFormer School of Music Dean Wilfred C. Bain sums up why its important to have a state-of-the-art building. \n"You must have a physical plant to back you up if you are to train at the top level. I am not talking about the thickness of the carpet or the aesthetic effect of an impressive lobby. I am talking about the facilities"
(11/30/00 7:04am)
In the mid-1970s, the Royal Library of the Netherlands sent a delegation to the United States with a goal to witness "one of the five most distinguished libraries in the world." They were here to see the IU Main Library. \nNot everyone agrees with the Netherlanders' assessment of the IU Library. It is a building christened by many names: The Floating Wheat Thin, The Borg Cube, Uncle Scrooge's Bank Vault. But the library would stand out on the IU campus by any name. It towers over the tree-filled Arboretum, over Jordan Street and over 10th Street.\nIt is, by any estimation, a big building. Comprised of three parts -- the 12-story graduate library, the five-story undergraduate library and the general facilities portion of the building, IU's Main Library holds three million volumes across an estimated 54 miles of shelf space. It was the biggest library at a major college in the country at the time of its construction. That was in 1970, and it still ranks as one of the nation's largest.\nBy 1962, the Library Review and Planning Committee envisioned the direction of the new library. \n"The architect should be under no obligation to reproduce the architectural style of other buildings on the campus," states their 1962 Interim Report. "On the contrary, a new departure would be most appropriate."\n They chose the New York firm of Eggers and Higgins -- known on the IU campus for the Lilly Library and the Fine Arts building. \nFour designs were submitted for consideration, with the names "Limestone Labyrinth," the "Towers of Silence," "Solomon's Temple" and "Unnamed Design Drawing." \nIU went with the "Towers of Silence."\nThere are 1,345 limestone panels decorating the library's face, connected to a concrete frame. The Indiana Limestone Institute claims that this was the first-ever application of the technique on such a large scale. Some claim that the cut panels are made to represent a limestone quarry, making the library a giant tribute to Southern Indiana's native industry. Others assert that the rough edged library is meant to look like a stack of books.\nAn inspiring image, either way. But perhaps the most apt of all images is that of the suspended vault. IU has seen two main libraries consumed by fire. The first time was in 1854. In response, angry students gathered by torchlight to burn the effigy of a suspected arsonist. The second was more recent, in 1969, when the library was set aflame twice.\nAnd though no perpetrator was ever satisfactorily named, initial reports feared arson, a reasonable fear at the time, when libraries on campuses across the United States were frequently targets of protest. \nPerhaps the IU Main Library reflects the turbulence of that shattered time. Looking out the windows of the main floor reference wing toward 10th Street, the Library's defenses become apparent. It stands high above the ground, raised upon stone steps, surrounded in some places by a trench. All its windows are above the level of the ground.\nInside, the graduate and undergraduate stacks are separated from the main entrances. Books are stored above the main floor, the majority in a windowless space.\nIn the event of any threat, it is easy to imagine the ease with which the library stacks could be sealed off for protection. It towers in the sky like a magnificent limestone vault, windowless and protective.\nIt towers over the site of the old stadium, where the Arboretum now stands.\nThe stadium's memory lives there now, in those gently sloping gardens in front of the Library. When Herman B Wells converted the stadium into the beautiful space which extends beneath the Library, he insured that the stadium would not be forgotten. It lives in ruins within the Arboretum.\nIts old entrance stands on the west edge, by Woodlawn field. At the southwest and northwest edges are the stadium's old flagpoles. The squat limestone building on the southwest side is the stadium's old concession stand. Within that space Herman B Wells oversaw the planting of trees from all over the world, to represent IU's diversity.\nAbove the Arboretum and the stadium ruins stands the Main Library, its strong angles and massive size tempered by the Arboretum's warmth. It is especially beautiful at night, when the Library's softly lit sides can be seen below, reflected in the pond.\nMany universities, forced by financial or spacial concerns, have constructed separate libraries for their undergraduate and graduate collections, forcing student movement. IU's main library includes both into its design, separating them with a spacious entranceway, which is designed to handle 20,000 entrances per day.\nContrary to rumor, the Main Library is not sinking and the architect did account for the weight of the books. In truth, the library sits higher on its site than was originally planned.\n"Five feet below the Bloomington campus is a 330 million-year-old, ninety-four foot thick layer of limestone," said IU architect Robert Meadows. \n"When the library was constructed, the upper layer of this rock was found to be harder than expected. Rather than blast, we raised the lowest level of the building a number of feet."\nFor more information or to request a building in a future column, feel free to e-mail me at mdemo@indiana.edu.
(11/30/00 5:00am)
In the mid-1970s, the Royal Library of the Netherlands sent a delegation to the United States with a goal to witness "one of the five most distinguished libraries in the world." They were here to see the IU Main Library. \nNot everyone agrees with the Netherlanders' assessment of the IU Library. It is a building christened by many names: The Floating Wheat Thin, The Borg Cube, Uncle Scrooge's Bank Vault. But the library would stand out on the IU campus by any name. It towers over the tree-filled Arboretum, over Jordan Street and over 10th Street.\nIt is, by any estimation, a big building. Comprised of three parts -- the 12-story graduate library, the five-story undergraduate library and the general facilities portion of the building, IU's Main Library holds three million volumes across an estimated 54 miles of shelf space. It was the biggest library at a major college in the country at the time of its construction. That was in 1970, and it still ranks as one of the nation's largest.\nBy 1962, the Library Review and Planning Committee envisioned the direction of the new library. \n"The architect should be under no obligation to reproduce the architectural style of other buildings on the campus," states their 1962 Interim Report. "On the contrary, a new departure would be most appropriate."\n They chose the New York firm of Eggers and Higgins -- known on the IU campus for the Lilly Library and the Fine Arts building. \nFour designs were submitted for consideration, with the names "Limestone Labyrinth," the "Towers of Silence," "Solomon's Temple" and "Unnamed Design Drawing." \nIU went with the "Towers of Silence."\nThere are 1,345 limestone panels decorating the library's face, connected to a concrete frame. The Indiana Limestone Institute claims that this was the first-ever application of the technique on such a large scale. Some claim that the cut panels are made to represent a limestone quarry, making the library a giant tribute to Southern Indiana's native industry. Others assert that the rough edged library is meant to look like a stack of books.\nAn inspiring image, either way. But perhaps the most apt of all images is that of the suspended vault. IU has seen two main libraries consumed by fire. The first time was in 1854. In response, angry students gathered by torchlight to burn the effigy of a suspected arsonist. The second was more recent, in 1969, when the library was set aflame twice.\nAnd though no perpetrator was ever satisfactorily named, initial reports feared arson, a reasonable fear at the time, when libraries on campuses across the United States were frequently targets of protest. \nPerhaps the IU Main Library reflects the turbulence of that shattered time. Looking out the windows of the main floor reference wing toward 10th Street, the Library's defenses become apparent. It stands high above the ground, raised upon stone steps, surrounded in some places by a trench. All its windows are above the level of the ground.\nInside, the graduate and undergraduate stacks are separated from the main entrances. Books are stored above the main floor, the majority in a windowless space.\nIn the event of any threat, it is easy to imagine the ease with which the library stacks could be sealed off for protection. It towers in the sky like a magnificent limestone vault, windowless and protective.\nIt towers over the site of the old stadium, where the Arboretum now stands.\nThe stadium's memory lives there now, in those gently sloping gardens in front of the Library. When Herman B Wells converted the stadium into the beautiful space which extends beneath the Library, he insured that the stadium would not be forgotten. It lives in ruins within the Arboretum.\nIts old entrance stands on the west edge, by Woodlawn field. At the southwest and northwest edges are the stadium's old flagpoles. The squat limestone building on the southwest side is the stadium's old concession stand. Within that space Herman B Wells oversaw the planting of trees from all over the world, to represent IU's diversity.\nAbove the Arboretum and the stadium ruins stands the Main Library, its strong angles and massive size tempered by the Arboretum's warmth. It is especially beautiful at night, when the Library's softly lit sides can be seen below, reflected in the pond.\nMany universities, forced by financial or spacial concerns, have constructed separate libraries for their undergraduate and graduate collections, forcing student movement. IU's main library includes both into its design, separating them with a spacious entranceway, which is designed to handle 20,000 entrances per day.\nContrary to rumor, the Main Library is not sinking and the architect did account for the weight of the books. In truth, the library sits higher on its site than was originally planned.\n"Five feet below the Bloomington campus is a 330 million-year-old, ninety-four foot thick layer of limestone," said IU architect Robert Meadows. \n"When the library was constructed, the upper layer of this rock was found to be harder than expected. Rather than blast, we raised the lowest level of the building a number of feet."\nFor more information or to request a building in a future column, feel free to e-mail me at mdemo@indiana.edu.
(11/17/00 5:00am)
The chemistry building never stays the same. \nDuring its 70-year history, it has undergone two major changes. Each change has transformed the building into something entirely different.\nIt started in an "E" shape. Robert Frost Daggett, an Indianapolis architect who also designed the Geology Survey building and IU-Purdue University at Indianapolis' Medical Science Building, decided on this shape. He recognized the future need for expansion. The "E'' shape, with its two wings on the East and West side, gave the site flexibility.\nBut there was more than flexibility involved. The E also gave the building a look of stateliness. Its North Entrance -- which still exists -- perches above a ten-foot slope. The pilasters tower four stories upward, decorated in an interlocking motif. Stone carvings of living things such as grapes and wheat wrap around the entrance. And the large windows provide a view to the street which includes 10 trees. \nDaggett chose to design the building in collegiate gothic style, decorating it with stone carvings. Forty-six ornamental shields, each carved with an elemental symbol in order of atomic number, surround the Oolitic limestone exterior. Various alchemical symbols were arranged around the wings. \nAt the building's dedication in 1931 Dr. R.E. Lyons, head of IU's chemistry department, praised Daggett's work. \n"The architect, through his knowledge and recognition of the highly specialized requirements of a building of this character, has designed a structure which is a monument to his skill," he said.\nThe University needed Daggett's skills again in the early '60s, when funding was secured for a much-needed addition to the cramped and inadequate facilities.\nBut funding fell short. A two-phase renovation was planned, but only the first phase was completed. The 1964 result was a seven-story addition which was functional but didn't match the original building. It was the wrong style, it was too tall and its most notable feature on the ground was the large loading dock which spilled into the street. Many people considered it an eyesore. \nThe only solution to an eyesore is to hide it, but the opportunity didn't present itself until the late 70s, when reports began to circulate that the chemistry building was unsafe.\nToo many students were sharing fume hoods. There were allegations that chemicals were stored improperly and that the libraries were poorly designed and ventilated.\nThe situation described in the 1979 IU program review was anything but positive: "noxious, toxic or carcinogenic fumes which escape from the exhaust hood exit area can be immediately recycled throughout the entire building, leading to an extremely hazardous situation."\nAdam Allerhand, chair of the chemistry department, was angry enough that he temporarily resigned in 1981. Allerhand had studied departmental files as far back as the 1950s and discovered a pattern of unsuccessful pleas on behalf of the chemistry department for funding. In a 1985 issue of the Indianapolis Star, he is reported to have told students to go to Purdue for chemistry.\nIt wasn't until 1985 that the Indiana General Assembly approved $40 million in funding for a new addition to the chemistry building. More protests followed, this time targeted against the chemistry building, labeling it the most expensive building in higher education in Indiana.\nThe addition needed to address the academic needs of the faculty. There were also aesthetic concerns. There was a sinkhole in front of the chemistry building. There was the matter of an exterior that would match the original 1931 building.\nThe Michigan architectural firm of Harley, Ellington Pierce Yee and Associates was chosen to build the addition, which added 80,000 square feet of new space. It matched the collegiate gothic style of the original 1931 building and wrapped around the mismatched 1964 addition.\nUniversity Trustee Clarence Long suggested an entrance from the south side that would relate to the sinkhole in a clever way. The firm responded with a series of steps reminiscent of a Greek amphitheater, blended with the collegiate gothic style used by Robert Frost Daggett half a century earlier.\nAn intake shaft for the new lab ventilation system was designed as a hollow limestone tower which squats in Dunn Woods over the sinkhole. It is carved with symbols of the six noble gases -- those gases which are inert and do not react with other elements. \nThe open courtyard, with its wooden floors and glass wall, was added as part of the 1988 addition. Contrary to rumor, the tree was not saved because it had the initials of Dunn and his wife carved into it. It was saved because Herman B Wells liked it and requested that it be saved. \nTwenty-five other trees were cut down during construction. Wells saw to it that these trees were replaced, on a two-to-one basis, on other locations across campus.\nHarley, Ellington Pierce Yee and Associates received an Honor award from the American Institute of Architects for the design of the addition, which showed a sensitivity not only to the previous building but also to the site itself.\nFor questions or more information or to request a building in an upcoming column, feel free to e-mail me at mdemo@indiana.edu.
(11/17/00 4:02am)
The chemistry building never stays the same. \nDuring its 70-year history, it has undergone two major changes. Each change has transformed the building into something entirely different.\nIt started in an "E" shape. Robert Frost Daggett, an Indianapolis architect who also designed the Geology Survey building and IU-Purdue University at Indianapolis' Medical Science Building, decided on this shape. He recognized the future need for expansion. The "E'' shape, with its two wings on the East and West side, gave the site flexibility.\nBut there was more than flexibility involved. The E also gave the building a look of stateliness. Its North Entrance -- which still exists -- perches above a ten-foot slope. The pilasters tower four stories upward, decorated in an interlocking motif. Stone carvings of living things such as grapes and wheat wrap around the entrance. And the large windows provide a view to the street which includes 10 trees. \nDaggett chose to design the building in collegiate gothic style, decorating it with stone carvings. Forty-six ornamental shields, each carved with an elemental symbol in order of atomic number, surround the Oolitic limestone exterior. Various alchemical symbols were arranged around the wings. \nAt the building's dedication in 1931 Dr. R.E. Lyons, head of IU's chemistry department, praised Daggett's work. \n"The architect, through his knowledge and recognition of the highly specialized requirements of a building of this character, has designed a structure which is a monument to his skill," he said.\nThe University needed Daggett's skills again in the early '60s, when funding was secured for a much-needed addition to the cramped and inadequate facilities.\nBut funding fell short. A two-phase renovation was planned, but only the first phase was completed. The 1964 result was a seven-story addition which was functional but didn't match the original building. It was the wrong style, it was too tall and its most notable feature on the ground was the large loading dock which spilled into the street. Many people considered it an eyesore. \nThe only solution to an eyesore is to hide it, but the opportunity didn't present itself until the late 70s, when reports began to circulate that the chemistry building was unsafe.\nToo many students were sharing fume hoods. There were allegations that chemicals were stored improperly and that the libraries were poorly designed and ventilated.\nThe situation described in the 1979 IU program review was anything but positive: "noxious, toxic or carcinogenic fumes which escape from the exhaust hood exit area can be immediately recycled throughout the entire building, leading to an extremely hazardous situation."\nAdam Allerhand, chair of the chemistry department, was angry enough that he temporarily resigned in 1981. Allerhand had studied departmental files as far back as the 1950s and discovered a pattern of unsuccessful pleas on behalf of the chemistry department for funding. In a 1985 issue of the Indianapolis Star, he is reported to have told students to go to Purdue for chemistry.\nIt wasn't until 1985 that the Indiana General Assembly approved $40 million in funding for a new addition to the chemistry building. More protests followed, this time targeted against the chemistry building, labeling it the most expensive building in higher education in Indiana.\nThe addition needed to address the academic needs of the faculty. There were also aesthetic concerns. There was a sinkhole in front of the chemistry building. There was the matter of an exterior that would match the original 1931 building.\nThe Michigan architectural firm of Harley, Ellington Pierce Yee and Associates was chosen to build the addition, which added 80,000 square feet of new space. It matched the collegiate gothic style of the original 1931 building and wrapped around the mismatched 1964 addition.\nUniversity Trustee Clarence Long suggested an entrance from the south side that would relate to the sinkhole in a clever way. The firm responded with a series of steps reminiscent of a Greek amphitheater, blended with the collegiate gothic style used by Robert Frost Daggett half a century earlier.\nAn intake shaft for the new lab ventilation system was designed as a hollow limestone tower which squats in Dunn Woods over the sinkhole. It is carved with symbols of the six noble gases -- those gases which are inert and do not react with other elements. \nThe open courtyard, with its wooden floors and glass wall, was added as part of the 1988 addition. Contrary to rumor, the tree was not saved because it had the initials of Dunn and his wife carved into it. It was saved because Herman B Wells liked it and requested that it be saved. \nTwenty-five other trees were cut down during construction. Wells saw to it that these trees were replaced, on a two-to-one basis, on other locations across campus.\nHarley, Ellington Pierce Yee and Associates received an Honor award from the American Institute of Architects for the design of the addition, which showed a sensitivity not only to the previous building but also to the site itself.\nFor questions or more information or to request a building in an upcoming column, feel free to e-mail me at mdemo@indiana.edu.
(11/09/00 5:00am)
A museum offers a zone of silence in the midst of all that yammer of audio visuals … when you talk about the final impact of a museum, you must consider that a museum allows people to be alone with the object of their scrutiny." -- Time magazine art critic Robert Hughes, on the IU Art Museum\nHerman B Wells had been thinking of a "cultural crossroads" at the heart of the IU campus since 1939, when he was first installed as its president. Here were two points -- the Union and the Library, with nothing between them.\nWhat Wells wanted was a space which students could pass through while moving between the two busiest points on campus. The University also needed a museum, as its collection of art was largely hidden in the vaults of what is now the Fine Arts Building. \nEnter I.M. Pei -- world-renowned architect, creator of the Bank of China, the National Gallery in D.C.; the JFK Library in Boston, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. \n"The challenge was: form a space that complemented Showalter…that recognized the strong pull of students down from the north side, the Main Library, and the dorms…how people were to enter the building were our considerations," Pei's project architect Ted Musho said in an interview with Indiana Alumni Magazine in 1981. \nDuring the design phase, former museum director Thomas Solley told Pei that he was looking for a large and undefined space. Pei responded with the Museum's three galleries. "There are theatrics," said Musho. "We give the director a theater set to permit him to stage a performance." Pei's vast experience designing museum spaces went into the interior, which he customized to meet Solley's specifications.\nExperience had shown that entirely open space provided no sense of scale. So Pei broke up the space with columns, then installed adjustable lighting within a black ceiling, to keep the focus on the artwork. The partitions are also movable. It is a setup like a sound stage.\nThe front doors, tucked between the intersection of two triangles, open into a sunlit atrium intersected by black beams. Vines and plants hang over two balconies, lending bright greens to the room.\nA twisting circular sculpture provides a border from Seventh Street, an attempt by Montana sculptor Charles O. Perry to answer the question, "What does it all mean?" Inside, a multi-hued aluminum pillar soars upward toward the space frame. Again, as outside, there are the colors of metal versus concrete -- an essential contrast. \nThe stairs are not encouraging. While visually impressive, their awkward angles make the climb to the upper floors seem a challenge from ground level. The landing from the second to third floor stretches interminably into a wall, and the railings seem disastrously low.\nThe library is small but functional. The halls are narrow, and most books are stored under the low ceilings of the second level. It is well shielded from the noise of the main atrium; yet is still connected by a window which looks out from the library into the sunlight.\n"At Indiana, I think the site of the building is very precise," Pei said in Indiana Alumni. "This art museum is intended as a conduit, a place where people pass by … people like to take short cuts. Therefore, the siting of the building puts it on the path leading from one center of activity to another."\nDespite Wells' noble aims, the Art Museum was built in a swirl of controversy. Critics argued that Pei, a New York architect and not a Hoosier, should not have received the commission to build the $10 million building. And of course, the concrete exterior -- which certainly does not match the rest of the campus -- was a big problem.\nPei admitted that he would have preferred to use limestone sheeting, to make the building blend better with its surroundings. But cost proved an issue, and abandoning the idea of limestone, as well as the idea of wood paneled flooring, saved IU more than half a million dollars. \n"I regret that I didn't insist further on limestone, but we couldn't because of cost … I'm not happy with the color of the concrete," Pei said in Indiana Alumni Magazine. "It's a bit too warm."\nIt is an unusual building. A piece of modern architecture amid a campus filled with modern collegiate gothic. \nAesthetically it is reminiscent of Pei's Louvre addition, though it has a unique campus function. Its stark walls create the illusion of an enclosed corridor in the space between Dunn Meadow and Seventh Street; its sharp angles provide a geometric contrast to the circle of Showalter. Students moving past, especially at night, appear in silhouette upon the vast span of its wings, casting strange shadows.\nFor questions or more information or to request a building in an upcoming column, feel free to e-mail me at mdemo@indiana.edu.
(11/09/00 2:58am)
A museum offers a zone of silence in the midst of all that yammer of audio visuals … when you talk about the final impact of a museum, you must consider that a museum allows people to be alone with the object of their scrutiny." -- Time magazine art critic Robert Hughes, on the IU Art Museum\nHerman B Wells had been thinking of a "cultural crossroads" at the heart of the IU campus since 1939, when he was first installed as its president. Here were two points -- the Union and the Library, with nothing between them.\nWhat Wells wanted was a space which students could pass through while moving between the two busiest points on campus. The University also needed a museum, as its collection of art was largely hidden in the vaults of what is now the Fine Arts Building. \nEnter I.M. Pei -- world-renowned architect, creator of the Bank of China, the National Gallery in D.C.; the JFK Library in Boston, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. \n"The challenge was: form a space that complemented Showalter…that recognized the strong pull of students down from the north side, the Main Library, and the dorms…how people were to enter the building were our considerations," Pei's project architect Ted Musho said in an interview with Indiana Alumni Magazine in 1981. \nDuring the design phase, former museum director Thomas Solley told Pei that he was looking for a large and undefined space. Pei responded with the Museum's three galleries. "There are theatrics," said Musho. "We give the director a theater set to permit him to stage a performance." Pei's vast experience designing museum spaces went into the interior, which he customized to meet Solley's specifications.\nExperience had shown that entirely open space provided no sense of scale. So Pei broke up the space with columns, then installed adjustable lighting within a black ceiling, to keep the focus on the artwork. The partitions are also movable. It is a setup like a sound stage.\nThe front doors, tucked between the intersection of two triangles, open into a sunlit atrium intersected by black beams. Vines and plants hang over two balconies, lending bright greens to the room.\nA twisting circular sculpture provides a border from Seventh Street, an attempt by Montana sculptor Charles O. Perry to answer the question, "What does it all mean?" Inside, a multi-hued aluminum pillar soars upward toward the space frame. Again, as outside, there are the colors of metal versus concrete -- an essential contrast. \nThe stairs are not encouraging. While visually impressive, their awkward angles make the climb to the upper floors seem a challenge from ground level. The landing from the second to third floor stretches interminably into a wall, and the railings seem disastrously low.\nThe library is small but functional. The halls are narrow, and most books are stored under the low ceilings of the second level. It is well shielded from the noise of the main atrium; yet is still connected by a window which looks out from the library into the sunlight.\n"At Indiana, I think the site of the building is very precise," Pei said in Indiana Alumni. "This art museum is intended as a conduit, a place where people pass by … people like to take short cuts. Therefore, the siting of the building puts it on the path leading from one center of activity to another."\nDespite Wells' noble aims, the Art Museum was built in a swirl of controversy. Critics argued that Pei, a New York architect and not a Hoosier, should not have received the commission to build the $10 million building. And of course, the concrete exterior -- which certainly does not match the rest of the campus -- was a big problem.\nPei admitted that he would have preferred to use limestone sheeting, to make the building blend better with its surroundings. But cost proved an issue, and abandoning the idea of limestone, as well as the idea of wood paneled flooring, saved IU more than half a million dollars. \n"I regret that I didn't insist further on limestone, but we couldn't because of cost … I'm not happy with the color of the concrete," Pei said in Indiana Alumni Magazine. "It's a bit too warm."\nIt is an unusual building. A piece of modern architecture amid a campus filled with modern collegiate gothic. \nAesthetically it is reminiscent of Pei's Louvre addition, though it has a unique campus function. Its stark walls create the illusion of an enclosed corridor in the space between Dunn Meadow and Seventh Street; its sharp angles provide a geometric contrast to the circle of Showalter. Students moving past, especially at night, appear in silhouette upon the vast span of its wings, casting strange shadows.\nFor questions or more information or to request a building in an upcoming column, feel free to e-mail me at mdemo@indiana.edu.
(11/03/00 5:00am)
There is a point to architecture. It is sturdy and strong. Amid the changing world, architecture remains. At IU we have lost Herman B Wells and most recently Bobby Knight. But one thing has not changed: our buildings. They're the same as they ever were.\nThis is the introduction to a series of stories that will explore the buildings of IU. Each week I will look at a building's architecture, its history and its relationship to its site. \nConsistently ranked as one of the best campuses in the United States and praised by students as a beautiful place to live, IU has much to be proud of. There's the library, a much criticized work of IU architecture, that is actually more beautiful if viewed from Dunn Meadow, especially at night. There's the MAC, which stretches over Jordan Hall in bright purple and orange. It is all the work of architects and landscape architects.\nHerman B Wells had his hand in the shaping of the campus. He was the visionary whose dream was that IU make a lasting future impression. He raised money; he hired architects, he aimed at a future goal all students could enjoy. Something permanent.\nAn important part of Southern Indiana is the limestone industry, and most of the buildings have limestone exteriors. More than just a part of our economy, limestone is also a part of Bloomington's cultural history. In those instances where a building does not feature limestone, such as the IU Art Museum, which features poured concrete, there is always a reason, and always controversy.\nArchitects take many factors into play, often juggling between controversies. At IU, concern has been raised and petitions have been circulated regarding the cost of a building's construction, the home state of an architect, even the color of a building's roof. \nOther valid arguments, which are more subjective, regard the site itself. Sometimes buildings do not serve the purpose for which they were intended. A skillful architect will design a building which is beautiful, functional and fits the area. It could be close to a road, along a high-volume area of students or on a hill. It might need room to grow, and its appearance must relate to other buildings. All these factors influence the final shape of the building.\nAnd there's a wealth of details. The HPER's walls incorporate swastikas into their design, but the HPER was built before World War II, when the swastika was still viewed as a Native American symbol. The elements on the chemistry building are in atomic order. Inscriptions are everywhere, like the one at the entrance to Franklin Hall: "A good book is the precious lifeblood of a master spirit".\nFor a sparsely populated area in a sparsely populated state, Southern Indiana contains a gem in the crown of U.S. architecture. Columbus, Ind., was ranked sixth by the American Institute of Architects for architectural quality and innovation. Within the space of a couple of blocks are buildings by world renowned architects. Eero Saarinen -- who built the TWA terminal at John F. Kennedy Airport -- has built there. So has Cesar Pelli, famed for the World Financial Center in New York, and I.M. Pei, who designed the addition to the Louvre. These are just a few names among many.\nPei later came to Bloomington to design the Art Museum. He joined the long list of architects that have been shaping IU since the 1820s.\nAny comments about the buildings or suggestions for future buildings will be more than welcome to my e-mail, mdemo@indiana.edu.
(11/03/00 3:51am)
There is a point to architecture. It is sturdy and strong. Amid the changing world, architecture remains. At IU we have lost Herman B Wells and most recently Bobby Knight. But one thing has not changed: our buildings. They're the same as they ever were.\nThis is the introduction to a series of stories that will explore the buildings of IU. Each week I will look at a building's architecture, its history and its relationship to its site. \nConsistently ranked as one of the best campuses in the United States and praised by students as a beautiful place to live, IU has much to be proud of. There's the library, a much criticized work of IU architecture, that is actually more beautiful if viewed from Dunn Meadow, especially at night. There's the MAC, which stretches over Jordan Hall in bright purple and orange. It is all the work of architects and landscape architects.\nHerman B Wells had his hand in the shaping of the campus. He was the visionary whose dream was that IU make a lasting future impression. He raised money; he hired architects, he aimed at a future goal all students could enjoy. Something permanent.\nAn important part of Southern Indiana is the limestone industry, and most of the buildings have limestone exteriors. More than just a part of our economy, limestone is also a part of Bloomington's cultural history. In those instances where a building does not feature limestone, such as the IU Art Museum, which features poured concrete, there is always a reason, and always controversy.\nArchitects take many factors into play, often juggling between controversies. At IU, concern has been raised and petitions have been circulated regarding the cost of a building's construction, the home state of an architect, even the color of a building's roof. \nOther valid arguments, which are more subjective, regard the site itself. Sometimes buildings do not serve the purpose for which they were intended. A skillful architect will design a building which is beautiful, functional and fits the area. It could be close to a road, along a high-volume area of students or on a hill. It might need room to grow, and its appearance must relate to other buildings. All these factors influence the final shape of the building.\nAnd there's a wealth of details. The HPER's walls incorporate swastikas into their design, but the HPER was built before World War II, when the swastika was still viewed as a Native American symbol. The elements on the chemistry building are in atomic order. Inscriptions are everywhere, like the one at the entrance to Franklin Hall: "A good book is the precious lifeblood of a master spirit".\nFor a sparsely populated area in a sparsely populated state, Southern Indiana contains a gem in the crown of U.S. architecture. Columbus, Ind., was ranked sixth by the American Institute of Architects for architectural quality and innovation. Within the space of a couple of blocks are buildings by world renowned architects. Eero Saarinen -- who built the TWA terminal at John F. Kennedy Airport -- has built there. So has Cesar Pelli, famed for the World Financial Center in New York, and I.M. Pei, who designed the addition to the Louvre. These are just a few names among many.\nPei later came to Bloomington to design the Art Museum. He joined the long list of architects that have been shaping IU since the 1820s.\nAny comments about the buildings or suggestions for future buildings will be more than welcome to my e-mail, mdemo@indiana.edu.
(09/14/00 9:23am)
A real basic question first... Who's in the band?\nPete Schreiner ' drums\nNick Quagliara ' bass\nMarty Sprowles ' guitar\nDarin Glenn ' vocals, guitar, sampler\nWhat is the band's recorded discography?\nSchreiner: Okay, well this is complicated, because there have been three lineups. The first lineup was the Panoply Academy Glee Club, they have a full length called Rah!, which is on Secretly Canadian, they have an EP called What We Defend, that's on Secretly Canadian, they have a 7-inch on Ape Records … the (next) lineup was called the Panoply Academy Corps of Engineers, that's the full length that came out in April, it's on Secretly Canadian, that's called Consentus. And then ... I took over on drums, now we're the Panoply Academy Legionnaires.\nI've seen your music classified as "experimental." Why do people classify it like that?\nSchreiner: Probably because it's never verse-chorus-verse. Probably mostly structural. We have some weird sound stuff that happens with the sampler. We have a lot of changes. We'll push up on you right away. It's pretty unpredictable, I suppose….I'd like to think we're experimental, but I don't think we're as experimental as a lot of people.\nA lot of people that I've heard talk about how your live shows can't be missed — about how you guys are absolutely outstanding live. Why?\nSchreiner: It must be the energy. We're not a real 'rock and roll' band. We don't jump around a lot. It's got to be the music. I think the music's pretty exciting. We have a part in one of our songs where we have this chant, and we ask, "What color was the blood?" and depending on what people yell out, that determines how the song progresses. We have noisemakers; we encourage people to play along. We've had some shows that were awesome, with people just playing along. We'll have a break, and they'll keep playing through it.\nAny upcoming shows?\nSchreiner: We're playing the BloomingtonFest Saturday night at the John Waldron Arts Center, at 10:30 (p.m.). Both those nights also Friday are a Secretly Canadian and Jagjaguwar showcase as part of BloomingtonFest. Jagjaguwar is a sister label of Secretly Canadian and all the bands are good. It's going to be awesome. We're going to try to do a long tour, tour the country again. Probably in like February or January. Maybe with a band called Cerberus Shoal from Maine. \nDo you have anything in the works?\nSchreiner: Yeah, we're recording right now with this guy named Dan Burton; he's in the Early Day Miners and he was in a band called Ativin, which was on Secretly Canadian. They're awesome. We did all the basic tracks before summer. Dan just moved here from Chicago, and he set a studio up at his place. We'll be working there the next couple of months, actually.\nNow, there's an a capella album that you're on too, right?\nSchreiner: Yeah, that's called the Panoply Academy Die Cast Cadets, and it's mostly, well Darin's the only one from the band that's on it.
(09/14/00 4:00am)
A real basic question first... Who's in the band?\nPete Schreiner ' drums\nNick Quagliara ' bass\nMarty Sprowles ' guitar\nDarin Glenn ' vocals, guitar, sampler\nWhat is the band's recorded discography?\nSchreiner: Okay, well this is complicated, because there have been three lineups. The first lineup was the Panoply Academy Glee Club, they have a full length called Rah!, which is on Secretly Canadian, they have an EP called What We Defend, that's on Secretly Canadian, they have a 7-inch on Ape Records … the (next) lineup was called the Panoply Academy Corps of Engineers, that's the full length that came out in April, it's on Secretly Canadian, that's called Consentus. And then ... I took over on drums, now we're the Panoply Academy Legionnaires.\nI've seen your music classified as "experimental." Why do people classify it like that?\nSchreiner: Probably because it's never verse-chorus-verse. Probably mostly structural. We have some weird sound stuff that happens with the sampler. We have a lot of changes. We'll push up on you right away. It's pretty unpredictable, I suppose….I'd like to think we're experimental, but I don't think we're as experimental as a lot of people.\nA lot of people that I've heard talk about how your live shows can't be missed — about how you guys are absolutely outstanding live. Why?\nSchreiner: It must be the energy. We're not a real 'rock and roll' band. We don't jump around a lot. It's got to be the music. I think the music's pretty exciting. We have a part in one of our songs where we have this chant, and we ask, "What color was the blood?" and depending on what people yell out, that determines how the song progresses. We have noisemakers; we encourage people to play along. We've had some shows that were awesome, with people just playing along. We'll have a break, and they'll keep playing through it.\nAny upcoming shows?\nSchreiner: We're playing the BloomingtonFest Saturday night at the John Waldron Arts Center, at 10:30 (p.m.). Both those nights also Friday are a Secretly Canadian and Jagjaguwar showcase as part of BloomingtonFest. Jagjaguwar is a sister label of Secretly Canadian and all the bands are good. It's going to be awesome. We're going to try to do a long tour, tour the country again. Probably in like February or January. Maybe with a band called Cerberus Shoal from Maine. \nDo you have anything in the works?\nSchreiner: Yeah, we're recording right now with this guy named Dan Burton; he's in the Early Day Miners and he was in a band called Ativin, which was on Secretly Canadian. They're awesome. We did all the basic tracks before summer. Dan just moved here from Chicago, and he set a studio up at his place. We'll be working there the next couple of months, actually.\nNow, there's an a capella album that you're on too, right?\nSchreiner: Yeah, that's called the Panoply Academy Die Cast Cadets, and it's mostly, well Darin's the only one from the band that's on it.