Mount Holyoke’s upcoming construction projects may cause “some short-term agony,” said project manager Mel Overmoyer at an open forum at Blanchard last week, “but when the projects are complete, we will have some pretty fabulous new buildings.” The art building, the science complex, and the Blanchard Campus Center were the focus of an hour-long forum attended by a small but vocal group of students, faculty, staff, and members of the Blanchard Committee. Overmoyer, a consultant with Strategic Building Solutions and the manager of all three building projects, gave a brief “walk-through” of the projects before opening the floor to questions.

Emphasizing the preliminary status of the Blanchard renovation plan, Overmoyer explained that the goal is to transform the current “dark and dismal” interior into “a much brighter and more vital” center. Lit by a skylight from above, and with a central “hole” opening a view from the first floor on up, the proposed building would provide a well-lit, integrated, mall-like venue for dining, entertainment, and social activity. The food court, a pizza service, and other culinary elements would be situated on the lower floor of the building, which now houses the bookstore.

The middle level would function as the building’s “Main Street,” said Overmoyer. It would include a cyber café, coffee bar, art gallery, game room, College store, information counter, and mailroom. The radio station, student programs offices, and meeting rooms will be on the upper floor. And rather than the current main entrance “blockade,” the new plan incorporates a “grand staircase” and an entryway that opens up immediately onto the main space. Additions to the building would expand it to the south and the north, said Overmoyer, and provide views to the water. The entire project, he said, is scheduled to begin next September, if approved by the board of trustees, and will take two years.

As for work on the art building, which is scheduled for February through summer 2001, Overmoyer said a small addition will expand the building to the south, and the second floor will be reconfigured for classroom space. The third floor will undergo studio, lighting, and architectural treatments.

A much larger challenge, the science complex, scheduled to begin this spring, will progress in stages over a three-year period. Carr Laboratory, Shattuck Hall, Clapp Laboratory, and a new addition will be joined, Overmoyer explained, under a concept that recognizes the new “cross-pollination” trend in the sciences. Physics, chemistry, biology, geology, and the other science disciplines “will have the advantage of intermingling for a more interdisciplinary pedagogy.” Designs for the brick addition include a three-story atrium, an entrance pavilion, and classrooms. A bridge will be constructed between Carr and Clapp.

Issues raised by students and faculty included the future of the Blanchard traffic circle, the location of the campus center loading dock and handicap access, and classroom relocation during construction and renovation. Overmoyer encouraged suggestions and emphasized that many challenges still lie ahead. “There will be a lot of activity on this campus over the next three years,” Overmoyer said, “and some very complex issues still need to be resolved.”