Facts: The blog, “Goodnight, Raleigh!,” began a campaign on January 10 to save the Bookstore building from demolition during the Talley Student Center renovations. The Facebook group has 491 “likes” and 20 comments are on the blog’s post.
Opinions: The renovations have more merit than the preservation of the building in regards to future student usage. Though the architecture is unique and a part of N.C. State’s history, for the Talley Project to be successful, it needs all the space possible for students’ practical needs.
Milton Small, Jr. designed what is now known as the NCSU Bookstore. The building was completed in 1959 and served as the Student Supply Center. Today it still serves the same purpose but to more than twice the student body population. The Talley Student Center renovations call for the building destruction, but “Goodnight, Raleigh!” is calling foul on the ground of architectural preservation. However, functionality beats out aesthetics in the new project and it is for the best of the students that the Bookstore is demolished and incorporated into the new center.
At the hub of the matter, the Bookstore needs to be larger to adequately serve the student population. Currently, the gift shop, bookstore and art/technology supply area are squeezed upstairs. The textbook bookstore is down in a dungeon-like room that is so confined, it is a deterrent for students to even buy their books there. “Goodnight, Raleigh!” should understand that not only does this detract from the convenience factor of the Bookstore, it also decreases the financial benefits to the University from the students using it.
The blog disagrees with tearing down the Bookstore and claims that demolishing it would not be green. However, it would be difficult to incorporate the current building into a new design because of its architectural techniques and the technology used in the new building to make it LEED certified. It would be a very Frankenstein-like move to try to piece the old and the new together this way.
Students will benefit from the way the space will be used in the new design. More open green space, without the great wall surrounding it, will break up the brick jungle of Central Campus and bring more students to the student center. It will be a multifunctional space for students and groups to use, not a secluded, surrounded annex. Attracting students and having a more functional space is more important than preserving a Googie-style roof.
“Goodnight, Raleigh!” may not have considered the future needs of the University. The student body of N.C. State will continue to grow, and it will need to continue to adapt itself to keep up with the times. Future students will continue to demand more and the University will have to make itself even more attractive to prospective students and nothing says “come here” like a new area just for students to use.
The demolition will be a loss in terms of N.C. State architecture unique to the campus; however, it will serve as the foundation for a new era of N.C. State architecture. Turan Duda, an alumnus of the College of Design, was here when the original Talley was constructed and now has his own vision for the new Talley. “Goodnight, Raleigh!” may just come to like the new series of architecture if they give it a chance.
