by Christopher Sanchez
Daily Lobo
High-rise buildings could be constructed at UNM in the near future, said Roger Lujan, director of Facility Planning.
The UNM Board of Regents approved a proposal Jan. 10 to permit the construction of taller buildings on campus.
In 1960, UNM restricted the construction of buildings taller than two-and-a-half stories, Lujan said. He said buildings could be three stories, but the third floor would have a lower ceiling than the first two floors to follow the permit. Buildings higher than two-and-a-half stories, like the Humanities building, were built prior to 1960.
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UNM placed the height restriction because Zimmerman Library was intended to be the most prominent building on campus, Lujan said. Two-and-a-half story buildings also provide access to natural light, he said.
The permit will prepare the University for its increasing enrollment, said Jamie Koch, president of the UNM Board of Regents.
UNM's main campus fall 2005 enrollment was 26,280, an increase of more than 3,000 students from 2001.
Main campus is running out of land to build on, and that is the reason why the height restriction was eliminated, Lujan said.
"If you look at an aerial photograph of the University, our new building sites are limited," he said.
UNM's main campus is on about 220 acres of land, Lujan said.
Lujan said the University owns more land, but it is not in close proximity to the main campus.
"The University owns land in lots of other places, but in order for the University to maintain presence in Albuquerque and New Mexico in the current location, we have to think about using the land we have to work with," he said.
Lujan said in 1960, the University was smaller and had plenty of land to build on.
"They probably thought we would never run out of property," he said, referring to the administration that implemented the restriction.
UNM considered eliminating the height restriction for several years, Lujan said.
"Lots of people talked about the constraints, particularly on what we will need in the future," he said.
Lujan said there will be no limit on how tall buildings are since the proposal was passed.
"The height is driven by site consideration and the need for space and any other elements that suggest how big or how tall a building should be," he said.
Lujan said he expects new buildings to be three to four stories.
UNM student John Montoya said it would be acceptable to build taller buildings on campus, depending on the location.
"As long as the buildings don't overshadow other buildings or knock out the sunlight, it's OK," he said. "Other than that, I really don't care."
If the proposal was not approved, Lujan said, the University would have had to consider lower height for buildings, which constrains buildings in the current location, and does not fulfill campus needs.
Koch said caution should be taken in designing buildings to maintain the same architecture as the rest of the campus.
"You have to be careful about high rises, because it could make the campus not a very attractive place," Koch said.
Koch said the University will continue to construct buildings that have compatible architecture to the rest of buildings.
UNM student Pedro Dominguez said students would not have to walk so much if there were taller buildings.
"The campus wouldn't be so spread out," he said. "It would also add to the landscape of the city of Albuquerque."
