Historic Resource Survey Form : Bean Complex

4 pagesThe 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