Southeastern NEWS

                                                       Southeastern Louisiana University
                                           Public Information Office
                                           publicinfo@selu.edu
                                           SLU 880, Hammond, LA 70402
                                           504/549-2341/fax 504-549-2061
    Date: 9/17/99
      Contact:                           Christina Chapple   1

Editors: Photo accompanies release
PLANNING EXPERT PREACHES "ART OF PLACE MAKING AND PLACE MARKING"
     HAMMOND -- Every campus needs to develop a sense of place, internationally-known
campus planner Richard Dober told an audience Sept. 15 at Southeastern Louisiana University,
where campus and community representatives are in the midst of visualizing what they want
Southeastern to look like in the future.
     Dober, who has been described as "the father of modern campus planning," gave the
keynote address at the opening of a week-long architectural "charrette"   a quick, intense study  
at the Hammond campus.
     From Sept. 15-22, a team called Foresite -- a joint venture between Holly and Smith
Architects of Hammond and Architects Southwest of Lafayette -- is spearheading the charrette,
bringing together administrators, faculty, students, city and parish officials and adjacent property
owners to brainstorm on campus planning issues.
     The results of the charrette, including images and proposals, will be presented at 6:30
p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 22, at Southeastern's Student Union Theatre. The public is invited.
     Thanking the campus and community representatives who turned out for the opening
session, President Sally Clausen said,  "A great deal of this is the result of very dedicated
legislators, who have taken an interest in the fact that this campus has decided it wants to move
to the next level, that it wants that sense of place."
     Dober showed hundreds of slides of campuses from throughout the world to explain how
"the art of  place making and place marking" can create and enhance a campus' image and
character. Noting that Southeastern "is on the threshold of making very important decisions," he
counseled the planners to take into consideration issues such landmarks, style, consistency of
materials, landscapes, and the "three Ss" -- signs, sculpture and sight history.
     Michael Holly of Holly and Smith Architects said during the charrette's week of workshops,
planners and participants will brainstorm about visual environment, image, character, land use,
the city's relationship to campus and "that all important discussion, especially this time
of year, of 'Where do I park my car?'"
     In answer to an audience member, who pointed out that none of the photographs in 
Dober's slide presentation showed automobiles and parking, Dober said, "Parking is the
lifeblood of this institution. There has to be parking here, sufficient parking. My question would
be, can it look better, can it be safer, can it be a utility, and still not be a dominant influence on
campus?"
     "You only have one opportunity to make a first impression," Holly said. "Image and
character has a lot to do with that first impression. Image and character create memories,
memories create support, and support brings the all important funding." Throughout the week, he
said, "We will develop an outline that places this campus on the road to providing the kind of
image that we all know it can have."