The buildings on the Quad are at the center of the University’s academics, and so far this summer, they have also become part of several construction and maintenance projects, affecting both students and faculty on campus during the break.
Many of the projects underway at buildings such as Gregory Hall, 810 S. Wright St., and the English Building, 608 S. Wright St., are considered deferred maintenance by the University’s Facilities and Services. According to the Facilities and Services’ website, the Deferred Maintenance Program is set up to address delayed projects necessary to maintain upkeep of University buildings.
Projects at Gregory Hall include electrical service repair and HVAC (Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning) replacement, according to the Facilities and Services’ website.
At the English Building, projects include the upgrading of electrical systems, installation of safety measures such as fire barriers and emergency lighting, as well as bathroom renovations. As students left with the end of spring semester, workers have continued the construction both indoors and outdoors, although some students taking summer classes have noted the construction is in full swing.
“It’s a little annoying,” said Jaimie Huber, junior in LAS, said. “It’s kind of hard to know how to get around.”
Huber said she is currently taking a summer class in the English Building and noted some minor inconveniences in her trips to class.
“There’s a shifting of entrances at times,” she said. Usually Huber enters the English Building from Wright Street, but during the summer has had to walk around to entrances on the Quad side of the building, she added.
Huber also noticed that while she had a class moved to Davenport Hall during Session I, her Session II class remained in the English Building.
“I’m surprised there’s not more noise,” she said.
Some construction, though, has proven to be more than just a minor inconvenience. Planned exterior repairs to the Natural History Building, located at 1301 W. Green St., hit an unexpected snag when a problem was found during a structural analysis of the building several weeks ago. Inspection showed that floors in the addition built in 1908 were found to be sagging due to a concrete error made when the addition was originally constructed, University officials said.
The result has affected not only the construction work but also several units of the University, including the Geology Library, the School of Integrative Biology, and the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology.
As a result of the concrete error, several academic personnel have been relocated to other parts of the building and elsewhere.
“It appears that we will be displaced for about two years while the floors of the 1908 part of the building are reinforced,” said Steve Marshak, professor of geology and director of the School of Earth, Society, and Environment (SESE).
Marshak said space will be made in other parts of the Natural History Building, with plans to re-configure larger rooms on other floors to make room for offices. “We will have to relocate the lab classrooms for the large introductory courses in geology,” he added.
Operations Manager of SESE, Scott Morris is currently working on relocation plans for the school and said several classrooms and displaced personnel are also being relocated within the building itself.
In addition, some offices such as the Business Affairs Office for SESE will move to the Atmospheric Sciences Building, 5089 S. Sixth St., while the Director’s Office will remain in the Natural History Building, Morris said.
“Needless to say, this situation will disrupt some activities and cause inconvenience,” Marshak said. “We are trying to minimize the impact and hope to be operational by the beginning of the fall term.”