By Carly Wendt
J Alumni News staff
Imagine stepping outside the west doors of Andersen Hall into an open area of green grass, rows of flourishing trees, and an interactive fountain set on a small plaza. Students, faculty and members of the Lincoln community relax on benches and take a break. This vision is part of the overall rejuvenation project for the seven-block area of the Centennial Mall, between K and R streets.
The design for the new mall has been assigned to Bahr Vermeer Haecker Architects, a firm that also recently designed the Esther L. Kauffman Residential Center, Architecture Hall’s renovation and the University Parking Garage on the UNL campus. Overseeing the project is the Nebraska Capitol Environs Commission, a joint, city-state entity that maintains the area surrounding the State Capitol. The design for the Centennial Mall will benefit the College of Journalism and Mass Communications and will provide a more functional space between UNL’s new southern boundary and downtown Lincoln.
Fountains will be the central feature of the refurbished mall. The interactive fountains, which appear to spurt up from plaza surfaces, will be similar to the one on the north side of the Nebraska Union and will replace the old, basin-type fountains.
Ed Zimmer, member of the commission and historic preservation planner for the Lincoln Planning Department, hopes the fountain will be enjoyed by many.
“The interactive fountain will be something used and enjoyed by both the College of Journalism and the Children’s Museum,” Zimmer said.
The Children’s Museum is located on the west side of the mall, across from Andersen Hall.
To add consistency to the area between the mall and the Capitol, steps similar to the front steps of the Capitol will be used throughout the mall, and two rows of English oak trees will line the entire seven-block length of the mall.
Plazas and fountains will be located outside Andersen Hall and the State Office Building, and grass-filled medians on the streets will connect the two ends of the mall.
Architecture professor Thomas Laging said this plan replaced an original plan that was fairly ornamental and expensive. Laging is one of the members of Nebraska Capitol Environs Commission overseeing the project.
“I hope this new plan is highly adaptable and open to contributions,” Laging said. “It will have a timeless quality that doesn’t compete with the Capitol.”
Although this project is an exciting asset for the city and UNL campus, it is on hold until funds are available. The project is estimated to cost approximately $10 million with at least a million dollars used for the construction of each of the seven blocks. The construction of the mall is a step-by-step process, and the area attached to Andersen Hall will be the first block to begin construction.
Zimmer said the commission is seeking funds from the university and the city of Lincoln.
“All we’re waiting for is the money,” Zimmer said. “But as we all know, this is a tight year for budgets.”
Despite the financial challenges facing the project, the new location for the College of Journalism and Mass Communications is an added feature for the rejuvenation project.
“It’s so exciting to see new energy on the mall with the new journalism building,” Zimmer said. “It’s further knitting the campus and the city together.”
For more information and illustrations of proposed design plans for Centennial Mall, please log onto the Bahr Vermeer Haecker Architects Web site at www.bvh.com.