Deciding whether to write that: : “You had me at new hockey arena.” ; or that “You had me at taco bar.”
Great choice. Good luck.
In fact that whole area, known as the East End or East Campus, has been massively transformed over the last 10+ years. They didn’t quite follow this master plan, but there are some neat historic photos here:
To my eye it gets notably worse from 1923 through the car era, although you can see them beginning to reclaim it in 2013 with the new buildings along the right (north) side:
And then here is what they actually did:
You’ll have to tell me, because I don’t remember criticizing Vassar’s campus! I really like it.
Now, S24 preferred WUSTL, but I doubt he is taking questions tonight . . . .
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Oh wow, I love that interior space in Olin!!! That is gorgeous.
Yes, it is very cool! Here is a writeup in Architect:
As I noted it is pretty stealthy from the outside:
Our first tour I was pretty wowed walking inside, not expecting a space like that.
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Ah. Different thread. My bad:
Right, my S24 preferred WUSTL. I liked them both.
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People remember the buildings they’ve been to, but the only ones that mean anything are the ones they’ve spent time in.
I remember staying in the dorms and eating at the Naval Academy dining hall in college during a tournament with a dozen schools… but the ones that mean something to me, that I have any memories of, are the vastly inferior ones that I spent a few years in.
“You can dream, create, design, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it requires people to make the dream a reality .” – Walt Disney
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Ah. Again, my apologies. Perhaps, criticize was a poor choice of words. You presented a critique of the Vassar campus in which you stated that its architectural style was eclectic. The WUSTL campus, by comparison, was more uniform - if not altogether as “faithful” in its execution as Vassar’s own attempts at gilt by association.
Maybe we can agree that in the end, it’s like comparing apples and oranges. Vassar is a country college with a lot of land per student. WUSTL has nearly three times the number of undergraduates alone, all occupying basically the same sized campus as Vassar’s. It would make sense for WUSTL to resort to an urban style of formalism and structure in its approach to campus planning; universities have been using the Gothic inner courtyard as a way to both maximize land use as well as separate itself from the hustle and bustle of town life for millennia. They don’t call it the “Oxbridge” style for nothing.
Absolutely. I actually think they are both superb versions of their specific sort of campus. My S24 has a strong preference, but I do not–I responded very positively to both, and I can easily see Vassar being the favorite of a different kid.
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When is the Carleton tour?
On it right now!
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Since you mentioned Wesleyan, can someone explain the bunker architecture-no window style of the music/ theater areas?
My son hated them.
AFAIK, all eleven buildings have windows (or sliding glass doors in the case of the art studios.) Just not in equal numbers or on all sides of every building. Some have walls of sheer limestone just because - they’re beautiful to look at. YMMV.
https://www.wesleyan.edu/cfa/about/worldmusichall-venueinformation.html
There is a glass door but no window and it’s set underground. Our tour wouldn’t let us go inside. S24 accepted there but didn’t like them.
Very different architecture from the library.Not sure if the new STEM buildings are done.
What about the World Music Hall did S24 not like?
You have to imagine what eleven little buildings made of red brick would look like and that, in part, would answer the question.
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I think it’s the first two pics, and we also walked around the back. Maybe just his sensibilities of not wanting to be underground?
As an aside, he loved Eastman at UR, until the AO scared him by suggesting that double majoring was strongly not recommended( neuroscience, voice performance)
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Associations with mausoleums, tombs, ziggurats. Got it:
I was so curious to read what your kiddo liked about Carleton. Unfortunately when we were there the students were on Spring Break. There were two students who gave a tour, but we really got nothing out of it that was any different than any other college tour. We didn’t get to go in the student center, I can’t even remember any details about anything we saw and it was just last month. We had just come from St. Olaf where there were still students and that made a world of difference. My DD took Carleton off her list and didn’t apply. But a friend whose daughter goes there later told me that when her kiddo toured both schools she felt that the kids at Carleton seemed nicer. We are still waiting for Macalester and Vassar transfer results. Not holding my breath about Vassar because she was waitlisted last year there. But Macalester has been very communicative.
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It is so hard getting a real feel for student culture, absent something like an extended overnight stay. But I think going to a class helped my S24.
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