Eden Hall Master Plan

Eden Hall Campus Design Charrette

zflanders — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 18:48:33 +0000

On Thursday, March 25, the planning team will hold the third series of on-campus meetings. These meetings will begin the master plan and development phase of the planning process.

The planning team will meet with the Project Leaders group – a representative body of administrators, faculty and staff – to outline development alternatives. The meetings will take the form of a design charrette. The charrette process involves bringing people from many disciplines together with decision makers for intense work sessions. The team will discuss the charrette, as well as other developments in the planning process, with Richland Township officials on Friday, March 26.

Environmental Analysis

zflanders — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 14:03:41 +0000

At the open house, the team presented an analysis of the environmental resources and development opportunities for Eden Hall Campus site.

First, the team looked at the streams and watersheds on the site to understand the hydrology.

Site Hydrology

The team identified the areas best left undeveloped.

Land not suitable for development

These areas are unsuitable for development because they have steep slopes and unsuitable soils. Leaving them undeveloped will protect the site’s water quaility and provide habitat for the area’s wildlife.

Finally, the team identified the first and second priority development areas.

First and second priority development zones

These areas are the best for building and have the least environmental impact. This analysis will form the foundation for the development alternatives.

Visioning Meetings

zflanders — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 10:06:16 +0000

On February 16-19 the planning team held a series of visioning meetings for the project leaders and Chatham faculty and students.

The planning team arrived on February 16 and conducted existing building surveys. The team determined that many of the buildings have historical and present value and are worth saving, but critical repairs need to be made if the buildings are to be preserved.

On Wednesday, February 17, an open house was held for Chatham faculty, staff, and students. The purpose of this open house was to introduce the planning team and the master planning process, to share the evolving vision for the Eden Hall Campus, and to gather feedback on the work done so far. Over 50 people came to view the work and speak with team members about the Eden Hall Campus.

For the next two days, the planning team conducted stakeholder interviews to get more individual feedback. The team held additional internal design meetings to begin incoporating the building surveys and feedback into the design.

Emerging Opportunities

zflanders — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 20:25:44 +0000

The initial purpose of the Eden Hall Campus is to provide a home for Chatham’s new School of Sustainability and the Environment. Another significant opportunity is to provide a physical place for a strengthened Rachel Carson Institute that will tell the rich story of Chatham University and the EHC through greater public access and outreach.

The following were discussed as emerging opportunities during the kick-off workshop:

Health and the Environment

Food studies
Health sciences, Health and wellness
Medicinal applications
Women’s studies and the environment
Biophilia studies in the psychology dept.
Energy and water research
Urban forestry and ecology
Animal health

Sustainable Agriculture

Live/work community
Urban farming
Organic farming
Alternative farming
Aquaculture lab
Animal health

Enhance Coursework taught at the Woodland Campus

Landscape architecture, Botany, Ecology and green infrastructure labs
Interior architecture, Green building science
Health sciences, Holistic health sciences
Biology, Aquaculture
Writing programs
Fine art programs

Public Outreach

Continuing education focused on the environment/women’s issues
Agritourism
Healthy lifestyles training
Sustainable business incubator
Retreats (artistic, environmental, conferences, etc)

Kick-Off Workshop

zflanders — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 21:35:23 +0000

The Eden Hall Campus planning team held a two-day workshop on January 12-13 to kick-off the master plan project. The workshop was open to Chatham Project Leaders, invited faculty, departments heads, student representatives and members of the University’s Board of Trustees.

The objectives of the workshop were to:

Introduce the planning team and stakeholders
Explain the master planning process
Define a vision for Eden Hall Campus
Brainstorm opportunities (programs, activities, curriculum, revenue generation, partnerships, etc.) for Eden Hall Campus
Gather ideas and feedback from the University

The following slideshow was presented during the workshop. It provides an overview of the goals of the master plan.

Learn more…

zflanders — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 22:11:10 +0000

Welcome to the planning site for Chatham University’s Eden Hall Campus (EHC) − 388 mostly undeveloped acres located 35 miles to the north of Chatham’s Shadyside Campus. Inspired by Chatham alumna Rachel Carson and by our longstanding commitment to the environment, we intend to establish there a “green” campus − a “21^st Century place for 21^st Century challenges” and a home for our new School of Sustainability & the Environment.

Chatham has partnered with architects Berkebile Nelson Immenschuh McDowell (BNIM) and landscape architects Andropogon Associates to help realize our exciting vision for EHC. Over the first six months of 2010, the BNIM team will be working with Chatham administrators, faculty, students and Board members to create the campus master plan that will guide EHC’s future development and use.

This site will allow members of the Chatham community to follow and be engaged in the development of the Eden Hall Campus master plan. We hope you will visit this site frequently to learn what is happening and share in the excitement that this project is generating − on campus and in the community.