UL Lafayette: CDW: University Common: Development and Technology

				University Common: The Garden Proposal


				BACK TOPICS introduction basic concept site analysis project definition garden proposal SUB-TOPICS the prairie intramural fields the gateways the wetlands parking strategies 2nd century oaks development	The University, Economic Development and Technology

					University Common of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette is key to the development of Lafayette and the Acadiana region into a regional technology center. The 400-acre tract offers business and community development opportunities that will enable the region to compete for global technology businesses on a level playing field while, at the same time, enhancing the quality of life for all of Acadiana. In a global business environment where technology enables companies to conduct business from wherever they feel comfortable, UL Lafayette's University Common offers the quality of life amenities that-combined with the region's other lifestyle assets-make the research park located there a highly attractive location for technology company operations. Acadiana's mild subtropical climate can be a powerful asset in attracting technology companies to the region, as is the globally recognized prowess of the university's areas of excellence, such as the Center for Advanced Computer Studies. But a good climate and academic excellence alone will not make a community or a region a winner in global competition for technology-intensive economic development. Look at the global emerging technology centers-Reno, Nevada; Vancouver, British Columbia; Cyberjaya, Malaysia. The message is the same; amenities matter, lifestyle matters, quality of life matters. The master plan developed for University Common acknowledges that message. Execution of the master plan is an essential element in the effort to hitch the community's economic fortunes to the global megatrend of intensive technology growth centered around university-based research parks. Viewed in the context of recent developments in Lafayette, the logic and importance of the master plan for University Common becomes apparent. The renaissance of downtown Lafayette and its emergence as a regional arts and entertainment center-with permanent stages, new museums, restaurants and clubs-has substantially contributed to an upgrading of the city's quality of life index. The new museum located on the UL Lafayette main campus will further enhance the city's reputation as a Gulf Coast cultural center. The continuing enhancement of organized recreational activities in the form of new golf courses, public pools and playgrounds add to the city's momentum as a lifestyle club. The master plan for the UL Lafayette University Common uniquely fills a void that would otherwise remain a gaping hole in this emerging story. That hole is green space for less structured recreational activities. As demographers and planners have come to recognize, technology has fundamentally changed business and it has fundamentally changed the way people in those businesses approach their work. Rather than the “same time, same place” approach that characterized the organization of work in the industrial era, the approach taken by knowledge workers is “any place, any time.” That translates into work in a less structured environment, where a solution to a problem can be found in a stimulating break-a vigorous walk, a short run, a burst on a bike-rather than a nose pressed harder against the grindstone. The plan's inclusion of lush landscaping, using Louisiana wetland plants and prairie wildflowers along walking/biking paths, is not beautification for its own sake. The master plan for University Common is, instead, an insightful response to the new understanding of work in the age of the knowledge worker. In an era when the speed and scale of technology appears to make the natural environment and place less relevant in decision-making processes, this master plan has cut through the surface and seized on a core insight into the mind of today's knowledge worker: a tranquil and beautiful natural setting often enables the mind to unlock some of the most complex technological challenges.

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Document last revised Monday, April 26, 2004 9:17 AM