University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

UB Planning History

The UB Amherst Campus Plan

The Campus Plan was created in 1970 by Sasaki, Dawson & Demay Associates. It identified three functionally distinct areas in the design for the UB Amherst Campus:

The Academic Core

Maximizes the interaction between academic, residential, social, and recreational experiences within a compact land area so that walking is the main means of travel.

Activity Corridors

The circulation corridor of the Spine is extended as a series of branches and supplemented by commercial, recreational and support functions.

Perimeter Area

Consists primarily of site and circulation facilities that serve the core surrounded by woods, water, and athletic fields.

Physical Goals of the 1970 Campus Plan were as follows:

1. Each individual college will have a maximum of 1,000 students of which 40% are residents.
2. Maximum flexibility of living arrangements is required.
3. Academic and ancillary facilities, including areas of informal learning, counseling, and dining and study space for commuter students will be a part of each individual college.
4. No two colleges should be designed alike; furthermore, within each college, heterogeneity rather than narrow homogeneity should be encouraged.
5. The Campus should be active during the day and evening. The diversity of the campus must find expression.

E.B. Green and his South Campus Plan

E.B. Green’s work on the Main Street Campus began with the 1930 Master Plan. This plan was approved by the General Administration Committee on June 9th, 1930 as one the first master plans in the University’s history. Green was influential in the design of many buildings on the Main Street Campus including Crosby Hall, Abbott Hall, MacKay Heating Plant and Clark Memorial Gymnasium. The building material used commonly was limestone, granite and brick in neo-classical architectural styles.

2002 Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus Master Plan

In 2002, the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus (BNMC) Board of Directors adopted the BNMC Master Plan, created by the urban design firm Chan Krieger & Associates, Inc from Cambridge, MA in association with a number of local public and private agencies. The Plan was, and remains to be, a critical part of the Downtown Buffalo Strategic Plan and Queen City Hub Plan (initiated under the leadership of former Mayor Anthony Masiello) and can be seen as an alignment of goals among local, civic and political leaders, neighbors and property owners

Guiding Principles of the 2002 BNMC Master Plan

1. To establish a common campus address by capitalizing on the historic significance of Ellicott Street.
2. To improve the physical integration between the campus and surrounding neighborhoods by identifying Michigan Avenue and Main Street as “seams” rather than borders.
3. To foster community and economic development by recognizing the unique opportunities for redevelopment.
4. To enhance the open space network by creating a unique and distinct collection of open space that will support orderly growth and unify the campus