BOT discusses memorial for UNC's fallen

The Building and Grounds Committee of UNC's Board of Trustees met Wednesday to discuss proposals to honor former University members and improve the campus they left behind.

The topics that incited the most deliberation included a proposed ashes garden, the site approval for the Arts Common complex and preliminary design reviews for a memorial that will honor people with UNC ties who have died in the line of military duty.

Jonathan Howes, chairman of the Memorial Grove Committee, gave an update on the project. The grove is a proposed ashes garden slated to be constructed east of the Old Chapel Hill Cemetery.

"The reason we are doing this is because there is not enough room in the Chapel Hill Cemetery, and there are many people who would like to be buried here when the time comes," Howes said.

Some committee members said there should be ways to bury ashes as well as to scatter them, which was the only method provided in the original design.

The committee also approved the site of Phase I of the Arts Common, a 300-space underground parking deck and a new music building - but not without a few questions and requests.

Trustee Bob Winston, vice chairman of the committee, addressed the difference in the original and current designs, saying he was concerned about a shift in the proposed site of the music building.

"This is a change from where we've been headed," he said.

But Bruce Runberg, associate vice chancellor for facilities, planning and construction and the administrative liaison for the committee, allayed this concern.

"This proposed site for the music building was not working well with the Smith Building," he said.

Under the old design, the buildings were very close to each other. The new plan moves them farther apart.

The preliminary design review of an office building for the Educational Foundation prompted much cosmetic analysis of the building's colors - specifically, the contrast of light-colored brick and dark precast.

"My biggest concern is putting brick wallpaper on this building," said Trustee Roger Perry, chairman of the committee.

The committee members were unanimous on this point.

"The brick is not necessary, as far as I'm concerned, except for the contrast," said BOT Chairman Richard "Stick" Williams, also a member of the committee.

The Memorial to the UNC Fallen was another item of interest on the agenda. The memorial is designed to commemorate those connected to the University who have lost their lives defending their country.

"The most appropriate way to honor these people is a memorial that is integrated into the landscape," said Anna Wu, director of facilities planning.

The memorial will include a seat with a wall behind it containing inscribed quotes.

Maggie Smith, the artist of the project, said, "We were looking for a way to personalize this for the visitor."

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