Riverside Campus Plan - Office of Facilities Coordination - Texas ...

COMPONENTS OF THE CAMPUS PLAN35CIVIC STRUCTURE AND IDENTITYThe base as completed in 1943 and augmentedsome ten years later had a straightforward griddedstreet pattern, densely filled with three majorbuilding types: barracks and offices, wide spanhangars, and large warehouse structures. The classicgrid had a series of lettered ‘avenues’ parallelThe identity of the campus derives from the griddedlayout and the scale and massing of the buildings.However, there is an almost total lack of‘sense of place’ or celebration of the identity ofthe campus. Attention must be paid to noting theexistence of the campus at the junction of Highway47 with New Entrance Road (which mightbenefit by being re-named) and creating a senseintention of the plan is to encourage and facilitatedevelopment that will positively support the aspirationsand activities at the Riverside Campus,and ensure operational safety and convenience,while recognizing that changing circumstancesmay suggest alternative locations for some existinguses.FIGURE 1Facing page: Map of DevelopmentZones, transportationroute, and Military HeritageOverlay.to the north-south Flight Line Road (created alongthe eastern edge of a 500-foot wide aircraft parkingapron). The east-west direction had numbered‘streets.’ The blocks formed by the road systemhave equal spacing east-west and vary in dimensionon the north-south direction. The warehouseswere aligned to a railroad spur that entered thebase from the northeast, resulting in triangularand trapezoidal lots at the intersections with themain grid. The aerial photograph on page 6 showsthe civic structure in 1951.of arrival at the entrance gate, perhaps in conjunctionwith an increased sense of security.Major intersections in the street grid should bemarked with simple but distinctive markers. Futuredevelopment of campus lighting and signageshould draw on the Campus Site Furnishing andHardscape Standards in use on the Main Campusand West Campus.DEVELOPMENT ZONESDevelopment Zones reinforce the predominantuses in four broad categories:•Active Work Zone Light industrial-type activitiesand associated office support space•Warehouse Zone Long- and short-term storageand maintenance facilities•Office, Education, Assembly Zone with associatedtechnical support activities•Open Land, Hazardous Activities, andTesting Zone with associated structures indirect support of these activities.For obvious reasons buildings were kept to theeast of Flight Line Road. Major administrativefunctions were aligned between 5th and 6thStreets. New buildings for community use, gatheringspaces, or administration should be consideredfor this section of the campus, which is ofmajor heritage significance. As new facilities areconstructed, this pattern should be reinforced.Like all campuses, building uses are generallygrouped according to functional adjacencies, withspecific building uses mixed in each group. Thatis, laboratory/workshop space is supported byoffice and storage, and occasionally by ancillaryshelter structures. Over time specific departmentsand agencies have developed easily identified locations,and new structures and facilities havebeen constructed as their functions expanded. TheThe Development Zones are overlaid in part bya Military Heritage District designed to protectthe essential character of the 1942 Army Air Baseand specific structures remaining from the periodwhen the Riverside Campus was an active militaryfacility. Development proposals within theheritage district must be designed to respect andpreserve the integrity of its history.