Robert Zimmer, a Seattle-based architect and University of Idaho alumni, presented his goals to link the Arboretum and Botanical Garden, the Shattuck Arboretum, the Administration Lawn and the Academic Mall to better connect the arboreta with the rest of campus.
Zimmer said the proposal began as a plan to enhance the north entrance of the Arboretum and Botanical Garden on Nez Perce Drive, but was subsequently expanded.
“We had a lot of discussion and we had no preconceived ideas and it became very clear in a short amount of time that we really should strengthen the connections between the arboretum and the main campus,” Zimmer said.
Director for Architectural and Engineering Services Ray Pankopf said there were numerous concepts that emerged from the discussions with Zimmer, divided into three main areas.
The first area is the north entrance to the Arboretum and Botanical Garden, or “New Arboretum.” Pankopf said one proposal for this section is to narrow Nez Perce Drive and plant new trees alongside the street, which in time will grow to form an overhead canopy.
Nina Rydalch | Argonaut
Community members discuss arboreta improvements Tuesday in the Borah Theatre.
Pankopf said Zimmer based the concept on Washington Park Arboretum at the University of Washington in Seattle. That arboretum has a parkway running through it which successfully serves 18,000 cars a day, but is a more serene, parklike drive. Pankopf said the plan is feasible because Nez Perce Drive is already extremely wide, containing two lanes with parking on either side, and could be narrowed.
Pankopf also said similar landscaping was successfully done on the UI campus in the mid-1980s when London plane trees were planted on Line Street next to the Steam Plant, which now form a canopy over the road.
Pankopf said fully landscaping the street will form a continuous arboretum, connecting the old and new arboretums divided by Nez Perce Drive. Pankopf said people will cross the street under the canopy to enter the new arboretum, giving a feeling of continuity between the Shattuck Arboretum and the Arboretum and Botanical Garden.
Pankopf also said the area near the north entrance to the Arboretum and Botanical Garden could lend itself well to some sort of meeting place, created by either reshaping the topography or by building a structure or plaza of some sort on the site.
Pankopf also said he hopes to expand the Shattuck Arboretum, though he said there are currently no formal plans to do so.
Pankopf said it is also proposed that a new path be added, starting from the Old Administration Building steps and following the topography of the hill up and along the ridgeline above the Shattuck Arboretum and down to the north entrance of the new arboretum.
Pankopf said the third area is the Academic Mall. He said the plan is to tie the two arboreta back to the academic mall. Pankopf said that during discussions, it was noted that the UI Library tower, Memorial Gym tower and the “I” Tank all line up with each other, and this inspired the idea of expanding the academic mall up the slope to the “I” Tank through the Shattuck Arboretum.
Pankopf said the plan would involve removing trees and continuing the academic mall up slope to the top of the hill, likely via a switchback trail. Pankopf said this would mean the Academic Mall would extend to the highest point within the City of Moscow, and have an overlook giving a view of entire academic mall visible from the ridgetop.
Brian Johnson, assistant vice president for facilities, said the proposals are all still very early in the planning stages and nothing is finalized yet. No particular designs have been chosen, no budget estimates have been made and no timeline for completion has been set, though Johnson said he expected that each of the proposals, if approved, would be funded and constricted one at a time over a number of years, rather than all at the same time. Johnson said facilities is presently focusing on seeking feedback about the concepts that have recently been made public.
Johnson said the concepts have been presented to Arboretum Associates, campus executives and various deans and vice presidents. The response so far has been generally supportive and enthusiastic.
Johnson said facilities is now attempting to get feedback from students, faculty, staff, and community members though public presentation and details posted on their website at www.uidaho.edu/infrastucture.
Johnson said there has been no significant opposition so far, though people have expressed the greatest amount of caution around the proposed extension of the academic mall. Johnson said because the proposal would necessarily require some tree removal in the Shattuck Arboretum, it naturally causes some concern over altering the historic arboretum.
“I don”t think we”ve heard anyone say, “That”s a bad idea, don”t do it,”” Johnson said. “We”ve instead heard, “Make sure you do it well.””
Ryan Locke can be reached at [email protected]