With the 1990 Campus Planning Framework as a basis, workshop sessions were held with various campus stakeholders to solicit input on the Sesquicentennial Campus Planning Framework. Three sets of workshops were conducted in February, April, and May 1997. Students, faculty, staff, and others participated in the workshops. Participants were asked to respond to three questions directed to the strengths of the campus, weaknesses of the campus, and what needed to be done to maximize strengths and minimize weaknesses. Each question was asked both from a campus-wide and a functional area perspective.
Respondents appreciate the quality, diversity, and historic character of architecture on the campus.
Particularly cited is the architectural heritage of the Pentacrest. The relative compactness of the campus, proximity of similar campus functions to each other and to residence halls, and the integration of downtown Iowa City are positive qualities. Respondents' comments center on the lack of architectural continuity and also individual dislike of certain architectural styles or buildings. Workshop participants cite the lack of trees, shrubs and flowers, and the diminishing of greenspace as weaknesses of the campus. The relative compactness of the campus that is seen as a strength is also a weakness when compactness leads to a lack of open space between buildings.