About the UOB Project

ABSTRACT
Gabon has long been an oil-rich country. However, energy surveys show declining oil production with reserves not likely to run out within 40 to 70 years, and the Gabonese government is looking for additional ways to balance sustainability, human well-being and environmental conservation. Gabon is focusing on creating sustainable economic development with eco-tourism, improvements to the country’s infrastructure with massive, country- wide projects and increasing opportunities for all of Gabon’s people. But how can the modern Gabon avoid the same rush to development, sprawl and short-term thinking that other countries have experienced? How should land within a Gabonese city be developed that follows a more sustainable model? What role can an international urban design studio play in the development process? How can urban designers from the United States prepare effective plans for a site that is on the other side of the World?

This project will explore these questions and propose sustainable development scenarios for the regeneration and development of Université Omar Bongo, the national university of Gabon, located in the heart of Libreville in northwest Gabon. Additionally, it will look at how the university fits into the regional, local and neighborhood context.

This project directly aligns with three of the Gabon-Oregon Center’s primary themes:  education and training, research collaboration, and having projects on the ground. To help facilitate social change through education and training, the project will engage with Université Omar Bongo faculty, staff and students, the local community, the City of Libreville, and the country of Gabon, in a sustainable design process of learning about the planning and design process through participatory engagement. Integrating University of Oregon and Université Omar Bongo graduate and undergraduate students into a cross-cultural setting will support the transfer of sustainable planning and design knowledge between universities and establish new synergies amongst the participants. Additionally, the campus regeneration plan is one part of the Gabonese multi-million dollar investment in their higher education infrastructure and staffing, and supports the larger “future with confidence” agenda by investing in the educational infrastructure for social change. The Gabon-Oregon Center’s prototype project can be used as a blueprint for follow-on projects. In this effort, students will:

• Study the findings from the previous campus plan;
• Research and analyze similar-sized universities through the case study model;
• Hold stakeholder participation information gathering sessions and analysis workshops;
• Examine opportunities and constraints for sustainable development scenarios; and
• Develop implementable plans of action for the campus and its integration within the neighborhood and larger urban fabric of Libreville.

Additionally, the specific findings from each sustainable development scenario will help establish a multi-year phasing plan with dependent and independent lists of projects. Finally, they will focus on the detailed preparation of each alternative that will include illustrative plans, renderings, and a form- based code with regulating plans, street sections, and building envelope standards.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this project will be carried out through a focused research and two-term terminal architecture and urban design studio. The project has nine main objectives:

1)   Engage Université Omar Bongo faculty, staff and students, and other Gabonese professionals and stakeholders in a sustainable design process of learning about the planning and design through participatory engagement. The focus of these public workshops will be on crafting a planning vision and supporting design principles, evaluating the existing conditions, brainstorming programmatic requirements, and developing sustainable development scenarios in a transparent and engaging charrette process.

2)   To prepare sustainable development scenarios for a campus regeneration plan for the Université Omar Bongo.  The scenarios will be based on Gabon’s National Public Works Agency (Agence Nationale des Grands Travaux – ANGT) three scenarios: (a) keep as many existing buildings as possible; (b) trying to conserve about half of the buildings; (c) starting with a blank sheet and bring the university up to international standards. These will be presented to the community for collaborative evaluation using the design principles generated by the community.  Out of this process, the direction for a blended preferred alternative of each scenario will emerge and be designed by the student teams.

3)   Integrate Université Omar Bongo and University of Oregon students into a cross-cultural setting where they can apply their knowledge of sustainable planning and design to a real-world project.

4)  Conduct precedent study on regional, national or international precedents that can offer lessons for the planning and design effort.

5)   Perform a thorough analysis of the existing site. Map and measure development patterns, activity nodes, environmental constraints and opportunities, transportation and land use patterns, built form elements, and existing economic functions.

6)   Generate a development program that builds on the strengths and opportunities of Université Omar Bongo, ANGT and stakeholder guidance. The program will address academic environments, residential requirements, supporting commercial development opportunities, open space needs, and will look at how the university interfaces with the regional, local and neighborhood context.

7)   Develop a comprehensive master plan for the site that includes the built and unbuilt areas, including a form-based code, regulating plan, building, street and landscape standards, high-level  sustainable financial strategy, and a set of phased illustrative plans for each scenario.

8)   Develop architectural designs for prototype building concepts.

9)   Develop a prototype project that can be used as a blueprint for follow-on projects.

PROCESS
In order to meet the project objectives, the project will unfold over several stages:

Phase I: Analysis

• Working in small teams, students will prepare urban design plans for the Université Omar Bongo site. Students will first research Gabon’s complicated history as it pertains to planning and development and will take a studio field trip to visit the site.
• Conduct precedent study research on sustainable urbanism and university campus design that can offer lessons for the sustainable development scenarios for a campus regeneration planning and design effort.
• Facilitate a series of on-site community visioning workshops with the Université Omar Bongo and surrounding community. The focus of these public workshops will be on crafting a planning vision and supporting design principles, evaluating the existing conditions, brainstorming programmatic requirements, and developing conceptual development alternatives in a transparent and engaging charrette process.
• Map and measure development patterns, activity nodes, environmental constraints and opportunities, transportation and land use patterns, and built form elements.

Phase II: Design and Evaluation

• Generate a development program that builds on the strengths and opportunities of Université Omar Bongo. The program will address academic environments, residential requirements, supporting commercial development opportunities, and open space needs.
• Take the initial ideas developed in the community visioning process and refine those into a series of sustainable development alternatives. The alternatives will be based on Gabon’s National Public Works Agency (Agence Nationale des Grands Travaux – ANGT) interest in seeing three scenarios: (1) keep as many existing buildings as possible; (2) conserving about half of the buildings; (3) starting with a blank sheet and bring the university up to international standards.
• These will be presented to the community for collaborative evaluation using the design principles generated by the community. Out of this process, the direction for a blended preferred alternative will emerge and be designed by the student team.
• Develop comprehensive master plan scenarios for the site that includes the built and unbuilt areas, detailed preparation of each alternative that will include illustrative plans, renderings, and a form-based code with regulating plans, street sections, and building envelope studies.

Phase III: Documentation

• The ultimate outcome is to provide Université Omar Bongo with a master plan scenario and summary reports that outline alternative sustainability development scenarios for the campus. Students will develop diagrams, site plans, site sections, conceptual building designs for key building types, and phasing plans. They will also develop a cost analysis of the development proposal that addresses intitial and operating costs and anticipated sources of revenue. They will also prepare environmental forecasts that estimate vehicle mile reductions, carbon dioxide emission reductions, and per-household savings for a mixed-use college campus that supports living and learning.