A college rises

Trails of yellow tape and an early morning wakeup call to residents near the Whitman College construction site are reminders of ongoing renovation on the University campus, following the debut of several remodeled buildings this fall.

One round of renovations was completed this summer in Jones Hall, which houses the Near Eastern and East Asian Studies departments, Clio Hall, Holder Hall, the basement of McCosh Hall, the Nanoscale Microscopy Lab in Jadwin and cafes in the E-Quad and Robertson, said Anne St. Mauro, University director of design and construction.

Sounds of jackhammers echo in other parts of campus where work is still underway, including the Lewis Science Library, Whitman College, the chilled water plant, Guyot Teaching Lab and labs in the basement of the Lewis Thomas Laboratory.

Buildings that are expected to be completed this year include Hamilton Hall, an old boilerhouse building connected to Baker Rink that will become Public Safety's new headquarters, and Aaron Burr Hall at the corner of Washington Road and Nassau Street, which will house the Anthropology department, the Latin American Studies Program and the.

University architect Jon Hlafter '61, who is in charge of physical planning, said that the demolishment and rebuilding of Butler College is on hold until the University trustees approve a specific plan.

Hlafter, whose son lived in Butler, characterized the college as the least-favored part of campus. Its new design will not be collegiate gothic, he said, but will likely feature a more modern red brick exterior similar to Bloomberg Hall.

Whitman College

Nearby, the previously brown and bare lot that is to be the home of Whitman College is now akin to a partly finished castle, with some buildings already laid in stone and others still covered with scaffolding.

John Ziegler, special assistant in the Office of the Vice President for Facilities, said that Whitman is probably the most complicated project he has ever worked on.

"It's challenging because it's a collegiate gothic building, and most people don't build these kinds of buildings anymore," said Ziegler, who is responsible for the overall design and completion of Whitman.

The building's unique design is a challenge to the project organizers, who hope to complete construction by the fall 2007.

"It's difficult to find materials and artisans capable of producing a building of this scale and complexity ... the nooks and crannies are what makes it complicated, but that's what some people would say gives it its charm. I'm one of them," Ziegler said.

Pleasant weather during the spring and summer worked in favor of the building's construction, which is particularly sensitive to weather, Ziegler said.

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"With a building of this kind, because it's masonry, it is more susceptible to weather than maybe a steel frame building, because steel is not as affected by rain and cold in same way that rock and concrete is," Ziegler said.

Ziegler said that efforts will be made to work through the cold winter months.

"What you are likely to see later is the building draped in certain areas with scaffolding and cloths and tarp to give a better environment for stonemasons to set block and stone," he explained.

Several blueprints for campus renovation are currently on the drawing board. Hlafter said that preliminary stages of planning come with many obstacles.

"It has to both meet the functional requirements and be visually acceptable to the grounds building committee and board of trustees — and come within budget," Hlafter said, noting that a typical project will take between one and two years of planning before construction can begin.

"We're always planning things, but exactly what the administration and trustees will approve, one never knows," Hlafter added. "We have to get around to a point that they think is a good idea."

Some future projects under consideration by the administration are as yet unknown to Hlafter.

"I think that there's been some acknowledgement that President Tilghman is hoping to make improvements in different parts of campus and we're working hard to try to find out what they will be," Hlafter said.