Comparison Maps of American Universities

Posted on

This post appeared in a previous blog and is here for posterity’s sake.

Now this is more like it! Just like the subway systems of the world, presented on the same scale, here is a similar project: Comparison Maps of American Universities by Ayers Saint Gross Architects + Planners.

This is a fantastic collection of urban information. What I would like to see are comparisons by geographic location – for example, looking at the similarities and contrasts between Yale and the University of Cincinnati (UC) shown above; comparisons by date of campus construction; comparisons of context and relative urbanity, etc.

Having had a fair amount of experience at both campuses, it is interesting to look at Yale versus UC. Yale’s present campus dating from 1716, is the direct result of lack of central heat and (most importantly) lack of electrical illumination. The technology of the time fostered long, thin masonry buildings with double-loaded corridors with regular windows to maximize light. Later additions were required to mimic this style for political and taste reasons. Visit Yale today, and you would be hard pressed to pick out contemporary buildings (Art and Architecture excepted) from new.

UC on the other hand, was founded in 1819 but was established at its’ present site in 1870, well after the first arc lamps were available and during the golden age of incandescent invention. However, its’ two growth spurts were post-WWII and in the last 20 years. As a result, you get larger buildings with larger footprints which take advantage of central heat and cooling, electric lighting, and other economies of scale.

These maps, along with Sanborn Maps, are invaluable tools for designers and historians.
By the way: for those New Yorkers out there, here are comparison maps for Bronx Zoo and Rutgers (no Columbia or NYU).

8 thoughts on “Comparison Maps of American Universities”

  2. Hey Grubbykid, thanks for the posting! As a Yale alum (class of 02) its great to see the campus in a way I never did!! Business majors didn’t get much chance to talk or learn much about design but, I really do enjoy it…..I’ve never been to Ohio but it is amazing to see the differences you point out in your descriptions.
    Did you go to Yale too? I loved it!

  3. The UC map is actually a few years old…significantly more dense I’d say, with the new residence halls on the South edge, Morphosis’ wavy ribbon and Tschumi’s “comma” notably exempted.
    The comparison would be even more pronounced with these included.
    Oh, and is that horseshoe shape the football stadium of the only Ohio college team to win their bowl game??

  4. Good catch Nick. I was there in October and can’t believe its the same place I went to school. New buildings, no students in the thesis studio, lack of direction and political infighting galore!!
    and if you can’t beat a directional Michigan team then its time to take up golf……
    PS. I’ve spent a lot of time trolling the halls of the GSD for pooty.

  5. No sweetchuck, I did not go to Yale (as you know). I’ve toured New Haven a bit but never studied there. I was going to put Harvard down as a comparison, since I lived by it for 3+ months and got to know the ins and outs of that part of Cambridge, but it was not on the comparison list. Yale is very close to Harvard in typology, layout, and age, so that was a useful comparison to UC. Writing @ 0030 after a horrible loss, my semantics got the best of me. I apologize.
    niklas and Arno make good points: UC’s campus has become more and more dense over the years, primarily due to the shortage of available land; UC only has 137 acres to Yale’s 835 acres, so the only was was to go dense and tall.
    And yes: UC was the only Ohio team with a horseshoe-type stadium to win a bowl game. But what happened about that team from up North?

  6. Grubby-
    If what you present in regards to the amount of land each university covers then it makes me think that the maps shown above are not the same scale as you have presented them. Is this true?

Comments are closed.