As snow and ice covers most of the campus, construction crews are still working to improve the overall look and facilities of AU. Currently, there are several projects in development, as well a few in the midst of heavy construction. Here are a few of the structural improvements coming to AU.
The Quad
Over the past few months, new signs have been built outside the academic buildings surrounding the Quad. The stones with the carved names were installed over winter break and the remaining pieces will arrive in the next month, according to Jerry Gager, director of the Office
of Facilities, Planning and Development.
The most recently added signs were constructed around the center of the Quad over winter break. The inscribed stones have not yet arrived for those signs, but the University's landscape architect will be checking on the progress of those signs this week, Gager said. The signs will list the full name of the main Quad, the Eric A. Friedheim Quadrangle.
The next step of the process will be decided once all the signs are complete. Additional signs may be constructed for the remaining buildings, according to Gager. Each sign costs between $8,000 and $9,000, according to Jorge Abud, assistant vice president of Facilities Administrative Services.
The overall redesign of the Quad was set down in AU's Campus Plan and has been used as a guide for all work on the Quad over the past three years, Gager said. Gager is unsure when the project will be completed.
"It really depends on whether there are donors out there who are willing to give to this," Gager said. "I'm sure it's not the highest priority on the Capital Campaign."
The Katzen Arts Center
Construction crews are continuing steadily on the new Katzen Arts Center across Massachusetts Avenue from the main campus, as seen through the Web cam featured on
the project's Web site, www.american.edu/katzen/.
The site has been split into three sections in order to classify the current level of completion, Gager said. Area C, the site closest to Ward Circle, has completed excavation and the foundation has been poured. The two underground levels of parking are built and the base of the first floor has been completed. This area will hold the main art gallery of the center, Gager said.
Excavation is still proceeding in Area A, the northernmost point, yet is nearly complete in Area B, the center of the building immediately across from Glover Gate. The excavation process has experienced several setbacks since it began in May due to poor weather conditions and the equipment hitting rock in a few locations, Gager said. The crane, already erected on the site, will be joined by a second crane in the middle section.
"By the third week of February, the second crane will be up," Gager said. "We found rock where we wanted to lay the foundation, so that had to be broken out of there [delaying the project]."
With the inclement weather and problems with excavation, the completion date has once again been pushed back, as Gager is now expecting the center to be finished in April 2005. Signs with the original date of late fall 2004 were removed several weeks ago, but Gager is still hopeful that the project will be completed without another postponement.
"It becomes almost variable because of the weather and what we're finding as far as rock is concerned," Gager said. "If we get a string of good weather, we may be able to improve on [the date]."
Clark, Roper and Gray Halls
Work on the Southside of campus was recently completed on Clark, Roper and Gray Halls. Each building was renovated with new windows and other improvements, Gager previously told The Eagle.
With the work completed, several departments have moved into the buildings, which are primarily used for faculty offices. Clark Hall has become home of the School of International Service Graduate Program. This will be the first time that the program will be located all together in one building, according to the American Weekly.
During the renovation, many departments were relocated to buildings such as the McKinley building and Nebraska Hall.
McCabe Health Center
The fourth building in the Southside area, known as "The Russian Barracks" by students, is McCabe Hall. McCabe has gone through part of the renovation received by its neighbors Clark, Roper and Gray. The next phase is the conversion of the building into the new Student Health Center.
The center is now in a design phase in which Center Director Bethany Chiaramonte is very involved, Gager said. Chiaramonte has been a part of at least three meetings concerning the new site and has discussed many opportunities to make the building an improvement over the current location, she said.
"We are going from about 1,500 square feet to about 5,000," Chiaramonte said, "It's going to completely change the level of service we're going to be able to provide. We're going to go from being hampered by our environment to being able to shine."
In addition to an expanded health center with more exam rooms and improvements in patient flow, McCabe will also include a new campus wellness center. This new center allows the health center staff to hold programs on wellness both during regular business hours and after the health center is closed. This is because the wellness center will have its own entrance, allowing students to enter without walking through the health center, Chiaramonte said.
Chiaramonte is planning for the health center to move in January 2005. Once the health center moves, Nebraska Hall will remain open for "swing space," according to Gager.
The Mary Graydon Center Bridge Project
The bridge project is now in the developmental stage, as meetings are being held with the architectural firm designing the project, Gager said. The project will replace the bridge between Mary Graydon and Battelle-Tompkins with a new structure allowing additional space for TDR on the bottom floor as well as the Tavern and other areas of the building, according to Mike Elmore, senior director of the University Center.
"In building the bridge project out, under it could be an extension of TDR or could be used for other opportunities," Elmore said. "Some of the rooms that have been used temporarily, like room 120 [on the first floor], it's possible that that could open up."
Meetings with other members of the campus community will occur in the next two weeks, Gager said.
The new SIS Building
The design process is now beginning on the new SIS building, according to Gager. The new building will replace the more than 45-year-old structure that currently houses some of the SIS offices. The building will bring together the remaining offices in a larger structure, expected to be completed for the school's 50th anniversary in 2007.
The building is a primary goal of the Capital Campaign, the University's $200 million fundraising program, said Al Checcio, vice president of development. Construction of the building is estimated at $20 million, according to the campaign Web site.
