- Question: What elements contribute to the beauty of a university campus?
- Answer: What makes a university campus beautiful is often a combination of magnificent architecture, historic iconic buildings, lush gardens, famous libraries, sports facilities, and vast quads where students can mingle.
- Question: How are some university campuses tied to the history of their cities?
- Answer: Some of the world’s most fascinating campuses are so intricately woven into the fabric of the city in which they are located that the history of the city is defined by the history of the university. In those cases, the entire city became a university campus, like you would see in Oxford or Cambridge.
- Question: Which architects contributed to the design of newer university campuses?
- Answer: Newer campuses were playgrounds of some of the world’s best architects such as the National Autonomous University of Mexico or Yale University.
- Question: Are any university campuses recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites?
- Answer: Many of the most beautiful world campuses are recognized and preserved as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
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1. Harvard University
Harvard University is a prestigious private Ivy League research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Harvard's main campus is centered over 209 acres on Harvard Yard in Cambridge about three miles from downtown Boston, and it is surrounded by Harvard Square neighborhood. The central administrative offices, main libraries, academic buildings such as Sever Hall and University Hall, Memorial Church, and most of the freshman dormitories are all located Harvard Yard. Twelve residential houses provide accommodation for sophomore, junior, and senior undergraduates. Nine of them are south of Harvard Yard and the other three are in a residential neighborhood northwest of the Yard at the Quadrangle. The university campus has a wide range of building styles that together provide a portrait of 300 years of informal history centering on American architecture.
Cambridge, MA 02138, Phone: 617-495-1000
2. Yale University
Yale University is a private Ivy League research university founded in 1701 in New Haven, Connecticut. It is one of the oldest institution of higher education in the United States. Yale's central campus occupies 260 acres in downtown New Haven. It includes the historic campus and a medical campus. The university athletic facilities are located in western New Haven on 500 acres, including the Yale Golf Course. Yale is known for its mostly Collegiate Gothic architecture, but it has several iconic modern buildings such as Louis Kahn's Yale University Art Gallery and Center for British Art. Yale has restored many important 19th-century mansions on Hillhouse Avenue, which Charles Dickens considered the most beautiful street in the United States.
New Haven, CT 06520, Phone: 203-432-4771
3. University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a renowned public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819, it is the flagship university of Virginia and a World Heritage site. The grounds feature stunning Jeffersonian architecture, and the campus is recognized as a model for university campuses in the country. It is most notable in the Academical Village, an area of the lawn that is a large, terraced green space surrounded by academic and residential buildings, the Range, the gardens, and the university around it. The main element of the design and the symbol of the university is the Rotunda at the north end of the lawn. The lawn and the rotunda became the model for designs of "centralized green areas" at universities all over the country.
Charlottesville, VA, Phone: 434-924-0311
4. Oxford University
Oxford University is a research university in Oxford, England. It is considered the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest university in the world – there is some evidence that teaching was conducted at Oxford as early as 1096. The university does not have a main campus and the entire city is considered its campus, with colleges, departments, student accommodation, and other facilities located throughout the city. The Science Area, with most science departments, is the closest to a traditional campus. World-famous historic university buildings include the Radcliffe Camera, the Sheldonian Theatre, and the Examination Schools. The controversial new Castle Mill development of five-story student apartments overlooking the historic Port Meadow is now blocking views of the iconic spires in the city center.
Oxford OX1 2JD, UK
5. Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
The Katholieke Universiteit Leuven or KU Leuven is a research university in the town of Leuven, Belgium. KU Leuven has been a European center of learning for almost six centuries. The university was founded in 1425 by Pope Martin V and is the oldest existing Catholic university in the world. KU Leuven's and the city of Leuven are so interconnected, it is difficult to say if the university is part of the town or the town is located within the university. In fact, the entire town can be considered the university campus. Its rich history can be seen from the number of historical university buildings. The medieval cloth hall, located close to the beautiful gothic town hall, is the university's administrative center. The beautifully restored historic Great Beguinage now houses students and guest professors. Numerous other colleges and residence halls are centuries old.
Oude Markt 13, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
6. National Autonomous University of Mexico
The National Autonomous University of Mexico or UNAM is a high ranking public research university in Mexico. UNAM's campus, designed by some of Mexico's best-known 20th century architects, is a UNESCO World Heritage site. UNAM's main campus "Ciudad Universitaria" (University City) is located in the southern part of Mexico City. The campus was designed to enclose the Estadio Olímpico Universitario, with about 40 schools and institutes, an ecological reserve, the Cultural Center, the Central Library, and several museums. It was completed in 1954 and is considered almost a separate region within Mexico City.
Av Universidad 3000, C P 04510 Mexico city Mexico city, Mexico
7. University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado at Boulder is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. It was founded in 1876, shortly before Colorado became a part of the Union. It is the flagship university of the University of Colorado system. The main university campus includes both academic and residential buildings and is located east of Chautauqua Auditorium and south of the Pearl Street Mall. The East Campus consists of research buildings and athletic fields and is located about a quarter mile from the main campus. The university’s unique architecture style is known as Tuscan Vernacular Revival. The oldest buildings, such as 1876 Old Main and 1923 Macky Auditorium, were built in the traditional East Coast school’s Collegiate Gothic style. Rough sandstone walls, multi-level red-tiled sloping roof, and Indiana limestone trim unify the style of all the buildings.
Boulder, CO 80309, Phone: 303-492-1411
8. Queen’s University Belfast
Opened in 1849 as "Queen's College, Belfast," Queen’s University Belfast is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The university’s campus is located at the heart of the Queen's Quarter area of the city, one of the six cultural districts in Belfast. While the university considers its main site as a campus, its buildings are spread all over South Belfast, mainly University Road, University Square and Stranmillis Road. The magnificent Lanyon building is the main university building, located at the central part of the campus. Opened in 1849, it is a Northern Ireland landmark. The McClay Library, opened in 2006, is a stunning building with over two thousand reader spaces.
University Rd, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK
9. Stanford University
Leland Stanford Junior University is a private research university in Stanford, California. Stanford University is ranked as one of the best universities in the world. Most of Stanford University is located on an 8,180-acre campus on the San Francisco Peninsula in what is known as Silicon Valley, about 37 miles from San Francisco. At the heart of the campus is the historic Main Quad with its California Mission Revival and Richardsonian Romanesque architecture. The new Science and Engineering Quad incorporates modern and technological elements with timeless aesthetics and wide open outdoor space. The Hoover Tower observation platform offers a panoramic view of the campus. Some of the other notable buildings are the Herbert Hoover Memorial Exhibit Pavilion, the Cantor Arts Center, the Anderson Collection, Bing Concert Hall, and Memorial Auditorium.
450 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, Phone: 650-723-2300
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Table of Contents:
- 1. Harvard University
- 2. Yale University
- 3. University of Virginia
- 4. Oxford University
- 5. Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
- 6. National Autonomous University of Mexico
- 7. University of Colorado at Boulder
- 8. Queen’s University Belfast
- 9. Stanford University