Southern Reconstruction

By Dale Swartz     4/17/08 7:00pm

A magic date is set in the minds of many students on campus, particularly underclassmen: Fall 2009. This is when major construction for current projects will conclude - including the Autry Court renovation, the new Recreation Center, the Collaborative Research Center and Duncan and McMurtry Colleges. Even with a dramatically transformed campus, the construction-free horizon is getting farther away, because a new, complex project is on the drawing board. Dean of Undergraduates Robin Forman is spearheading a $70 million, 14-month renovation that will affect Baker, Will Rice and Lovett Colleges. All students at Baker and some at Will Rice will be displaced in the academic year 2009-'10 during their colleges' renovation.

The Board of Trustees approved the predesign for the project at its meeting in late March. While the design is still evolving, current plans call for demolition, renovation and expansion at three of the six south colleges.

Baker's plan

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The most extensive construction will be at Baker. The corner of the 1950's wing will be demolished, and the remaining portions of that building will be extensively renovated. A large new wing will be connected to the current Housing and Dining office, whose facilities - including the kitchen and servery - will also be renovated and incorporated into Baker. Additions and reconstruction will bring the total number of beds at Baker from 207 to 240, said Facilities, Engineering and Planning Project Manager Eleni Barzouka.

The newly renovated, East-West portion of the 1950's wing at Baker will become part of Lovett, forming the third side of a new quad for the college.

The 1950's wing of Will Rice will be completely demolished and replaced by a new wing which will hold 128 beds. The entire college will see a net increase of 14 beds, to total 238. A new Will Rice master's house will be constructed, though its location has not been determined. One possible location is the northeast corner of the Will Rice quad.

The new servery

A new servery and kitchen will be constructed, connected to both Lovett and Will Rice. Although not part of the current plan, space is being reserved south of the new servery to connect a new wing to Sid Richardson College, including a new commons, according to Advisor to the Dean of Undergraduates Matthew Taylor. However, construction at Sid will not occur for at least the next five years, he said.

Alternate housing

The proposal will add a total of 82 beds to the campus. Taylor said this increase in bed capacity will not affect the percentage of students living on campus with the expected increase in enrollment. Barzouka, who is also overseeing construction at Duncan and McMurtry, said if the board approves the project at its May meeting, design work would begin immediately. Construction would last from May 2009 to July 2010.

Committees from the south colleges have been meeting and discussing the issues involved for a while, but students from across campus got their first look at the plan when Taylor presented it on Monday at the Student Association's final meeting of the year.

Some students inquired about portions of the plan, in particular its effect on housing during the 14 months of construction. Taylor said because of the extensive work at Baker, the college would be closed in its entirety for 2009-'10. A considerable proportion of Will Rice students will also be displaced because of construction. Forman articulated the administration's plans in an interview last week. He said the opening of Duncan and McMurtry in fall 2009 presented a unique opportunity.

"The most likely scenario is that Baker and at least part of Will Rice will move to one of the new north colleges during that year," he said.

Both Taylor and Forman said no decision has been reached for which college Baker and Will Rice will move to. Baker has asked to move into the temporary year-long housing as a unit, they said. Furthermore, Taylor said that it is unclear whether the 1910's wing at Will Rice will be usable during construction. He said the administration is considering moving all of Will Rice to one north college, leaving that wing open as housing for students bumped from other colleges.

Questions were raised about what could be done to alleviate the isolation at Lovett and to make it more hospitable during the construction phase, considering that major work will be going on to the north, south and east of it.

Students at the meeting also asked about the planned location of the Will Rice masters' house. Placing the house in the active central quad between Will Rice and Baker could make it rather noisy, some students argued.

Taylor also acknowledged that the plan would continue the erosion of college-proximate parking, since the new servery would be built over much of the Will Rice Lot.

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