Yale hopes to build on renovation lectures

The Yale School of Architecture held a three-day conference last weekend, called "Yale Constructs," to examine the building renovation process at Yale through lectures by art historians and renovation experts. And while those in attendance gave the conference mixed reviews, art and architecture experts still think it was a good attempt to address the key issues associated with renovations.

"A university taking such an interest in its architecture is unprecedented," said preservationist Anstress Farwell, GRD '78, founder of the Friends of Hillhouse Avenue. "The weekend was pretty phenomenal for a first try." She blamed the low turnout of Yale students and New Haven residents on logistical problems, including a last-minute change in the location of the event, a $50 registration fee for non-Yale affiliates, and poor publicity. "The event was never advertised in the Yale Daily News or The Yale Herald," she said.

Architectural Design Professor Kent Bloomer, GRD '61, criticized the conference for not providing a real forum for debate. "It was basically an information session, not really a symposium or a conference," he said. "There should be some kind of open discussion [about the renovations] so people can be heard in some kind of orderly way."

Despite the lack of such a forum, architectural critic and Art Professor Vincent Scully, Jr., JE '40, GRD '49, still managed to make his voice heard by threatening to dissociate himself from Yale if it demolishes 44 percent of the Divinity School Quadrangle, which is part of the University's plan for renovating the complex. "If the Divinity School were rebuilt according to the present plan, I'd have to rethink my future in this institution," he said in his lecture on
Sun., Apr. 10. "Loyalty can only be stretched so far."

Scully sensed positive reactions to the conference as a whole, but said the plans for the Divinity School stood out as a point of contention between attendees and the Administration. "I was pleased, and I thought most people were pleased by most of the interventions that are occurring, but I got a very strong feeling that people were not happy about what is planned for the Divinity School," he said.

Farwell said Scully's stern comments helped the conference end on a strong note. "I think it is so courageous to step out and say something like that," she said. "So many people are afraid of what the Administration will do to them if they speak out against it. I worry that there is no one coming up in the ranks able to take a stand like that."

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