Nice. Thanks for clearing that up.
As for UC Irvine's campus, there is crappy "open space" (
https://goo.gl/maps/k3DhPummfXk ) and much better open space like Aldrich Park (
https://goo.gl/maps/jbVQJ6oQkFJ2 ). Being in Irvine doesn't mean it is junk.
That is good height for Brighton. No question.
Sorry for the derail i'll just say a few words about irvine's University. They tried to do something different. Schools have quads. UC Irvine's campus has Aldrich Park. The layout of green space is quite impressive (with the schools sections lining the outer wheel with Aldrich Park as the focal point. Overall, it has incredible walkability compared to so many schools not only in So Cal, but everywhere.
Yes, Irvine's University Center area sucks a turd, but there are so many hidden twists and turns on this campus, lots of green patches and 2 or 3 unfinished baseball fields that get dark early because they're closed in. That's kind of cool. i hope they never get developed. The layout throughout is truly bizarre. Takes a bit longer to get your compass because it's a huge circle!... As time goes by, you discover little walking coves and bike paths, with more quirky spaces. Some that could be redesigned. But overall there's a lot of potential thanks mostly the extensive core of eucalyptus, sycamores, desert willows and flowery red coral trees. There's a lot of detail that you don't get on the Google map. It's nice. But, it's California; green spaces tend to be contrived and not well thought out.
There's a worse problem though. It's Irvine.
i should mention UCSD; La Jolla might be the best town in California. But the campus has gone down hill since my attendence in the late '80s. They overbuilt it with 5th College. It's got too many steep grades and odd berms. We had this kind of cool talking forest, but it didn't (or doesn't) engage a passerby to stay and get comfortable. That's where these green spaces in So Cal miss the mark (except for Griffith). The beetles are also huge problem throughout San Diego and Orange Counties. i'm not sure how that's being handled.
Overally, The UCSD campus is just not well planned, quasi-brutalist (Revelle and Muir) and other really bad turds that should go. The campus grew like Microsoft's computer platform. Now they're digging up much the last great open area there was left to put in even more buildings. Ugh.
i just think we're missing something with respect to these big developments. The open space in this project is a bit marginal. But you're right about the noise off the Pike. That may have contributed to the long shoebox. The location has good points. The isolation and size is less good, but i failed to recognize the zero-noise context. Huge upgrade!
