Longwood University has a rich history. The
college, first known as the Farmville Female Seminary Association, was
established in 1839 and is the third oldest public institution of higher
learning in Virginia. It is also the first state institution of higher learning
for women in Virginia. Longwood has always cared about its history and
traditions and has shown good stewardship of its historic buildings.
That is why I was surprised to find out that
Longwood University’s Master Plan called for the demolition of the Cunningham
Residence Halls in order to build a new student union. The Cunninghams have
been a central part of Longwood for over 80 years and many students, faculty,
and alumni clearly do not want them demolished. College campuses are home to many of our
oldest buildings, and these historic buildings contribute tremendously to their character.
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| Cunningham Residence Hall |
Below are two very articulate quotes on this
subject from Gale and Associates, an Engineering and Planning Firm from Herndon.
“It’s the
historic buildings that dominate marketing materials and draw students to
campus. They convey an image of a solid, lasting institution appealing to both
the students and the parents paying tuition. These iconic historic buildings
are often what alumni think of as they remember the campus.“
and
“While it
may seem that older buildings require more work compared to newer buildings, the
reality is that these buildings were constructed to last and now having aged a century
or more, are in need of maintenance. Buildings much younger (post‐War to present),
on the other hand, are exhibiting premature failure due to inferior design, materials,
and workmanship and may require as much, if not more work, than historic buildings.
As universities consider new construction projects, they need to ask themselves,
will the proposed assemblies and construction details last 100 years or more?" Link
Why Demolition?
Longwood’s Master Plan is somewhat perplexing
because while it calls for the proposed demolition of an important historic
building on campus, it also establishes several guiding principles for itself including: “keeping Longwood ‘like Longwood’; architectural compatibility; a compact,
convenient campus; on-campus student life; gathering spaces; making the campus
more pedestrian friendly; preserving, enhancing, and expanding campus green
space and lastly, including sustainability.”
Demolishing the Cunningham Residence Halls
does not fit into several of these guiding principles especially “keeping
Longwood like Longwood.” It also doesn't fit with the “sustainability” guideline. One of the most often
undervalued methods of achieving overall resource efficiency is to adaptively
reuse our older buildings. Unlike demolition, reuse does not produce the tons of wasted building
materials that end up in landfills each year.
A new student union seems to be needed, but
why demolish a historic building (and incur the costs) to do so? Why not build
it somewhere else? The reason given to
demolish the Cunninghams in the Master Plan is, “The cost of retaining and
renovating these buildings was judged to be excessive, and the choice was made
to explore other uses for the site.” However; I saw
no financial analysis of demolition verses reuse in the Master Plan, so how do
we know if the cost of renovation will be excessive?
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| Architectural drawing of new student union |
2011 Endangered
Sites Listing
Preservation Virginia has invested a great
deal of time and effort into encouraging the reuse of historic college and university
buildings. In 2011, after receiving
several nominations that highlighted threats to historic structures on college
campuses, Preservation Virginia listed “Historic Structures on Virginia’s College
and University Campuses” to our annual Most Endangered Sites list.
In 2006, five years before the Endangered Sites
listing, Preservation Virginia supported legislation calling on the Virginia
Department of Historic Resources to provide a tool for recognizing and
assessing the critical needs of state owned historic buildings including those
on colleges and universities. Because of
this legislation, public colleges and universities now have additional
information to help them meet stewardship goals for historic buildings while
maintaining their functionality.
Examples exist in Virginia and elsewhere of successfully
renovating and reusing historic campus buildings. Also see.
Some Quotes
Some quotes I have read by students and teachers
include: “The Cunninghams are a part of Longwood history that should not be
forgotten. Longwood students have a connection to their residence halls that is
hard to explain, and the connection to the Cunninghams is apparent when you
talk to alumni, and you hear the genuine love of their ‘home’ when they tell
stories about the fun they shared with friends. So, yes, it is sad to see them
go.”
“I have an emotional attachment to this
building. It was the first building that I lived in as a freshman, and now I’m
an RA for the same hall that I was a freshman on. This building pretty much
houses the majority of my college career”
“It’s upsetting to know that we have to say farewell to the Cunninghams, but again, I understand why they can’t remodel them. But overall I will be sad that I am losing one of the most important and integral parts of my college career.”
“It’s upsetting to know that we have to say farewell to the Cunninghams, but again, I understand why they can’t remodel them. But overall I will be sad that I am losing one of the most important and integral parts of my college career.”
“I’m going to miss the Cunninghams, but I
understand the reasons they have to tear it down.”
I have a feeling that the “reasons they have
to tear it down” have not been fully vetted, at least not by the students and
alumni who seem to genuinely care about their former dormitory.
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