KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Knoxville’s quest for a new baseball stadium will receive some fresh ideas this fall from University of Tennessee architecture students.
Marleen Davis, UT-Knoxville dean of architecture and planning, said Thursday that students in the college’s Urban Design Studio will develop site proposals that address issues such as the playing field and physical configuration, land use, access, image, sight lines, and the impact of the proposed new stadium on the community.
The Knoxville City Council has set aside $12 million for a new baseball stadium and this week voted to spend $25,000 to study two downtown sites as possible locations.
The city’s contract does not include the UT student work, but the exercise will benefit both students and stadium designers, Davis said.
“Students get exposure to a real-life design project and all the different factors involved. They learn how a project like a baseball stadium impacts a larger city,” Davis said.
“For the city and its citizens, this is a wonderful vehicle for discussion and debate, because the students will have a variety of concrete alternatives that people can compare and contrast.”
Mark Schimmenti, associate professor of architecture who directs the Urban Design Studio, said the course includes public meetings Sept. 13-16 with city officials and business leaders to discuss new stadium locations and plans for Knoxville’s old, deteriorating Bill Meyer Stadium.
Schimmenti expects 14 final student proposals to be presented to city officials and developers by the end of the semester.
“Baseball has a history of being part of the urban lifestyle,” Schimmenti said. “It was invented in the American countryside and came to the cities in the 20th century and became urbanized.
“This stadium is a very good subject for architectural study in many ways.”
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Contact: Marleen Davis (423-974-5267)
Mark Schimmenti (423-974-3235)