Historic Resource Survey Form : Bean Complex
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Date
2006
Authors
Johnson, Susan
Welch, Dustin
Blaser, Andrea
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
The Bean Complex was built during an era of rapid growth in student enrollment at the University. It is a dormitory complex
that was completed in 1963 in the Modern style amidst a university housing boom by architects Wilmsen, Endicott, and Unthank, and is
one of the few buildings constructed as a direct result of the Lawrence Lackey Plan. Lackey was hired by the University of Oregon to
prepare a planning report for the future growth of the campus in 1962. A significant amount of growth was targeted in the I.O.O.F.
cemetery and land east of Agate Street. The Bean Complex appears in Lackey’s proposed plan in its current location. It has an
asymmetrical plan, with 3 stories and a concrete foundation. While the primary exterior wall material is brick, concrete is also used
throughout. Bean has a flat roof with elastic sheet roofing, and has aluminum casement windows. The only decoration comes in the
form of pre-cast concrete panels with an exposed aggregate finish. The complex is named for Robert Sharp Bean, who was chief
justice of the state supreme court and later judge of the federal court of Oregon, a position he held until his death in 1931. He was the
first University graduate to serve on the University’s Board of Regents, and was first president of the University of Oregon Alumni
Association. Units within complex are named for former faculty: Parsons, Thornton, Caswell, DeBusk, Ganoe and Henderson.
Landscape features include courtyards with lawns, concrete paths, numerous rectangular concrete planters and exposed aggregate
walls. Large pin oaks appear in each of Bean’s enclosed courtyards along with a mixture of smaller ornamental trees, shrubs and
perennials. As an example of late modernist landscape architecture, the design by Maryl S. Lorish may prove to be more historically
siginificant than the buildings.
Because of misgivings with earlier campus planning strategies, Bean complex, along with numerous other buildings on
campuses throughout the country at the time, were designed without any effort to conform to the existing built environment. Today
Bean Complex stands at the east end of campus with other similarly-designed dormitories that were also completed in the Modern
style, and which stand in contention to the unified styles of the buildings in the center of campus. While the building has very high
integrity, it is not eligible for the National Register because it is less than 50 years old and holds no significant distinctions. Due to its
very low significance on the campus, it is rated as a non-contributing resource.
Description
4 pages
Keywords
cultural resources survey, history, architecture