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August 29, 2003
Building
Success All Summer Long
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Photo:
Todd M. LeMieux
The
grand staircase in the atrium of the newly renovated Blanchard
Campus Center connects the building’s three levels. |
From Morgan Street
to Park Street, hard hats were en vogue on campus this summer.
And while styles generally change with the season, this one is
leaving a legacy. The summer’s new construction and renovation
will further equip Mount Holyoke to prepare women for the challenges
of the next century.
“This just may be the busiest building season in Mount Holyoke’s
history,” said John Bryant, director of facilities management.
“Of course, the science center and Blanchard Campus Center
projects are largest and most visible, but many other significant
capital improvements are under way this summer. Faculty and staff
have been great about cooperating with all the inconveniences.”
According to Bryant, extensive improvements have been made to
Cleveland and Wilder Halls, Clapp Laboratory, the Miles-Smith
Science Library, and the Gorse Child Study Center. The new Jewett
Lane parking lot; the stone steps in the 1904 Garden; and countless
smaller projects, including new fire alarms, paving, and steam
lines, are now complete.
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Photo:
Todd M. LeMieux
The
exterior of Blanchard’s Great Room, which offers a
panoramic view of Lower Lake. |
President Joanne V.
Creighton echoed Bryant’s assessment. “The transformation
of our campus over the past few years is the result of one of
the most ambitious building and renovation projects in our history,”
Creighton said. “I want to thank all of those who have worked
so hard to carry out such a determined program so successfully.
I especially want to thank our facilities management staff, contractors,
and the hundreds of construction workers who have labored so diligently
to carry through so many projects to successful completion.”
Many of the major projects now being completed (or which were
finished in recent years, such as the significantly renovated
Pratt Hall and the Art Museum expansion), were identified by the
College’s Plan for Mount Holyoke 2003. Now, even as builders
and landscapers put the finishing touches on current projects,
the College community has begun to consider future projects as
part of the planning template contained in the Plan for Mount
Holyoke 2010.
Bringing It All Together
On the science front, the renovation of Shattuck Hall—the
third phase in the 118,000-square-foot science center addition
and renovation project—was completed. Bryant described the
result as a total transformation. “Shattuck was a gorgeous
building to begin with. It had beautiful architectural elements,
including gothic windows and leaded glass,” Bryant noted.
“But as far as I know, there has never been a top-to-bottom
renovation of Shattuck since its completion in 1933. It really
needed some freshening up.” Throughout the summer, crews
renovated all the building’s finishes, installed air-conditioning,
added sprinklers, and updated the plumbing, electrical, and fire
alarm systems. New lighting and carpets also were on the work
order, as was preserving the original woodwork and windows. The
departments that now call Shattuck home—physics, political
science, women’s studies, and English—began settling
in during early August. Like the other buildings in the science
center, Shattuck conforms to Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED) criteria for a “green building” as established
by the United States Green Building Council.
Though designated as the third of a four-phase project, the renovation
of Shattuck completes the new $34-million science center. The
Clapp-Kendade connector, which was scheduled as the fourth phase,
was finished a year early. According to Frank DeToma, Professor
of Biological Sciences on the Alumnae Foundation and director
of the science center, Mount Holyoke’s facilities are now
light-years ahead of what they used to be. “The science
center brings us up to where we should be as a science facility
for research and teaching,” DeToma said. “It’s
also a wonderful recruitment tool because as we interview science
faculty candidates, they see this manifestation of the College’s
commitment to supporting the sciences. It’s right in front
of them in bricks and mortar.”
Meanwhile, Shattuck’s neighbor, Cleveland Hall, also received
a summer makeover. Though technically not part of the science
center construction, the College opted to renovate Cleveland concurrently
since it is bordered on three sides by the complex. “In
order to keep consistent architecture, we designed Cleveland to
match in terms of paints, color schemes, and carpeting,”
said DeToma. This fast-track project, which began in May and ended
in August, involved completely refurbishing Cleveland’s
three large lecture halls with new finishes, cabinetry, acoustical
treatments, lighting, air-conditioning, mediation, and more comfortable
seating. Room L3, which is generally a physics lecture room, now
boasts fixed tables and movable chairs. Along with the interior
work, the entire roof—not just the roofing—had to
be removed and new joists added, both to address a snow-drifting
issue and to bring it up to code.
Welcome to Main Street
Photo:Fred
LeBlanc
Administrative
assistant Eileen Rakouskas and John Laprade, manager of
Blanchard Campus Center and director of student programs,
move into their new offices located on Blanchard’s
top floor. |
Another landmark project
completed this summer was the renovation and expansion effort
aimed at increasing the vitality of the Blanchard Campus Center.
The construction, which began in June 2001, peaked this summer
with up to 170 people on the site daily and crews working seven
days a week. “Blanchard was a complete interior gut renovation
that has enhanced the building’s functional and aesthetic
qualities,” said Bryant. “All work was done with an
eye toward earning LEED certification.”
High praise has also been garnered for Blanchard’s redesign.
The end result is striking; old elements such as Blanchard’s
historic masonry, stained bead board ceiling, and massive wood
trusses now blend with lighter maples, stainless steel, and copper.
Three levels are now connected by a central atrium with a 60-foot
skylight and a newly installed grand staircase. As a result, Blanchard
has become much more integrated and is infused with natural light.
The entrance from Skinner Green invites one into Blanchard’s
“Main Street,” a high-traffic area that is home to
the campus store, information desk, coffee bar (fittingly named
Uncommon Grounds), mailroom, a lounge, meeting rooms, the art
gallery, and tables for student groups and vendors. Designed to
evoke a streetscape, the southern addition’s interior possesses
exterior accent elements, such as pedestal light fixtures, railings,
and exposed brick (some from what was formerly Blanchard’s
south exterior).
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Photo:Todd
M. LeMieux
Blanchard’s
60-foot skylight. |
Below Main Street,
on the lower level, Blanchard’s new dining facilities will
offer a range of culinary options. Dale Hennessey, director of
dining services, is especially enthusiastic about the Blanchard
Café’s new gas-fired brick oven. “It weighs
about 11,000 pounds. It’s so big that the room had to be
built around it. Because of it, we’re going to be able to
offer specialty pizzas and calzones, and eventually we may be
able to bake our own bread,” said Hennessey. Another change
is that Blanchard now will be on the student board plan for lunch
(11 am– 3 pm) and dinner (3 pm–1 am). While Hennessey
feels that “the look alone of Blanchard and its food venues
is incredible,” she’s most excited that the new campus
center offers students “yet another form of variety in terms
of dining options.”
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Photo:Fred
LeBlanc
(left
to right) Blanchard Café manager Jeff Sadowski, Brian
Smith, Jamie Farnum, and
Holly Delphia will serve up pizzas and calzones from the
new gas-fired brick oven |
Adjoining the atrium
dining space is the 5,000-square-foot Great Room offering a two-story
glass wall with views of Lower Lake and a range of seating venues,
both private and communal. The room was designed so that all tables
and chairs can be removed to create a space for concerts and dances.
Two floors up, on Blanchard’s third level, is the student
programs office, as well as offices for the SGA, Mount Holyoke
News, Llamarada, the campus radio station, and other student groups.
The building is now completely wired for data and has full card
access. Blanchard will be formally dedicated on September 3 after
convocation.
But Wait—There’s More
Four other summer projects also significantly changed the MHC
landscape. The most obvious is Gorse Child Study Center’s
new look.
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Photo:Todd
M. LeMieux
Gorse
Child Study Center |
A new air-handling
system was installed on its old flat roof, and a pitched roof
was built above that system. Other changes can be seen throughout
Clapp Laboratory, but primarily on its third and fourth floors
as a result of a reorganization of the earth and environment department.
Using space freed up by the completion of Carr and Shattuck, several
spaces have been renovated to better serve the needs of earth
and environment. Two new fully mediated, 48-person classrooms
have also been realized on Clapp’s third and fourth floors.
Another reorganization occurred on the fourth floor of Miles-Smith,
where LITS established an information commons to address the increased
demand for both computers and support services to assist with
navigation of online research sources, and for spaces that allow
small groups to work together on collaborative projects. Last,
but certainly not least, was the conversion of Wilder to an accessible
and ADA-compliant residence hall on Skinner Green. Improvements
included the installation of a front ramp, a new elevator serving
all floors, and the renovation of every bathroom. A number of
rooms throughout the building also were refitted to be fully adjustable
for students who are mobility impaired.
As sophomores, juniors, and seniors explore the campus’s
new facilities, first-year students are settling into the only
MHC landscape they’ll ever know. “All of us in facilities
management share a collective sense of accomplishment when we
look at how the campus has been transformed,” says Bryant.
“Many of our staff members have worked closely with the
design consultants and outside contractors as part of a team effort
to complete these worthwhile projects within aggressive schedules
and often difficult conditions. We feel fortunate to work in a
field that offers such tangible rewards for our efforts. There
is much to be pleased about at summer’s end.”
The
counter is
2,181
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