December 23, 1997

For Immediate Release
Contact: Helen Plotkin, Director of College Relations

Hendrix College, 1600 Washington Avenue, Conway, AR 72032-3080

Office (501) 450-1225 / FAX 450-3821 / E-Mail:[email protected]

Hendrix news releases on-line at http://www.hendrix.edu/news

SUBJECT: Residence houses first step in master plan developed by DPZ

CONWAY, ARK. -- Early in 1998 Hendrix College will break ground on six new residence houses, the first major step in implementing a campus master plan developed by the internationally known architectural firm of Duany Plater-Zyberk.

DPZ Architects and Town Planners is a Miami-based firm founded by Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, the acknowledged leaders of an architectural movement known as "new urbanism," which advocates a return to basic design principles of the early 20th century when towns were built for people instead of for automobiles.

In keeping with the ideas of new urbanism, DPZ recommended that Hendrix keep its buildings on a human scale. When the College identified a need for additional student housing, DPZ counseled against building one large residence hall and suggested instead that Hendrix construct residence houses, each providing space for about 16 students. The firm suggested building the houses in clusters and linking some of them with covered walkways to create small plazas.

In the current plan, two of the six houses will stand alone while the other four are paired and linked with archways. Polk, Stanley & Associates Architects of Little Rock designed the houses. The College expects to complete the bid process and select a contractor in early January and begin construction shortly thereafter.

The small residence houses are among a number of concepts developed during a three-day "charette" DPZ conducted on campus in December 1995. The firm solicited input from more than 100 faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of the College during a series of intense work sessions.

The DPZ team set up a full working office in the Trieschmann Gallery on the Hendrix campus. Architects and designers worked steadily through two campus meetings where Duany solicited input and suggestions from the audience about how Hendrix could best make use of its 160-acre campus.

Andres Duany, president of DPZ, returned to Conway in February 1996 to present his firm's plan for Hendrix's future. In addition to the residence houses, he also recommended creating more formal entries into the campus and, as much as possible, protecting, restoring and reusing current architecture of the campus. Duany said the architecture at Hendrix was relatively unspoiled, compared with other campuses built along classic lines. Many campuses were damaged during the '60s and early '70s when institutional-style buildings were constructed on campuses that were basically residential and better served, Duany said, by buildings constructed on a residential scale.

Hendrix chose DPZ to help develop a master plan because of the firm's international reputation for quality and its commitment to creating spaces that meet the needs of people now and in the future. Because a small residential liberal arts college, like Hendrix, operates much like a small town, the College believes that a firm with a reputation for promoting community is the best choice to help develop a campus master plan.

Duany and Plater-Zyberk, his wife and partner, are best known for their development of Seaside, Fla., described as the "first authentic new town to be built successfully in the United States since World War II." Seaside, where front porches are required and everyone lives within a five-minute walk of the downtown area, has been declared one of the "Best of the Decade" by Time Magazine and featured in such national publications as The New York Times, Washington Post, Newsweek, and the Wall Street Journal.

Since its founding in 1980, DPZ has designed more than 80 new towns and community revitalization projects and has worked with several other colleges and universities including Brown University in Providence, R.I., and St. Thomas University in Miami, where the firm is based.

Duany and Plater-Zyberk have taught at the University of Miami School of Architecture since 1975. Plater-Zyberk founded a master's in architecture program in Suburb and Town Design at the University in 1989 and is director of the Center for Urban and Community Design. Duany lectures across the country and abroad on the problems of suburban sprawl and teaches an annual summer planning course at Harvard's Graduate School of Design.

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