Furnald Lawn

This summer classrooms received top attention during the largest summer construction and renovation program to date. In total $ 45 million was spent on upgrades that touched 17 buildings on campus.

"The bulk of our annual renovation and construction on campus must be done in the 12-week period when students and faculty are away," said Executive Vice President Emily Lloyd. "We are really pleased that we have developed the management capacity to complete over $45 million in work in a three-month period. This enables us to support the schools with quick and dramatic improvements."

Improvements touched every corner of campus—academic buildings, residence halls and student spaces, both inside and out. A completely renovated River Hall is open to students this year and Wein Hall has new windows, electrical supply and finishes. Renovated reading rooms in Butler Library's fourth floor bring additional 24-hour study space to students. The new black box theater and WKCR offices are all open in September. And outdoor spaces, such as Furnald Lawn and south field have new looks, drainage and sprinkler systems.

"While improvements can be seen throughout campus, this summer's projects focused on the upgrade of academic teaching spaces, specifically projects like Hamilton, Jerome Greene and Pupin, where a combination of infrastructure and space renovation has improved the space visually and responded to faculty requests for better ventilation, lighting and electronic supply," said Mark Burstein, vice president for facilities management.

Pupin 301

The classroom improvements range from new paint, lighting and furniture to the complete overhaul of amphitheaters and smaller seminar style rooms in several campus buildings. Eight classrooms in Hamilton Hall were completely renovated, including floors, chalkboards, wooden paneling, new furniture and the addition of central ventilation, which marked the end of the second phase of a multi-year project that will completely renovate the building. Four new high-tech classrooms were added to Jerome Greene Hall. Pupin 301, a 280-seat amphitheater designed in the 20s, was brought into the 21st century with the addition of air conditioning, new lighting and seating, new projection, a podium with a sink and running water and a retractable beam needed for physics and science experiments. Avery Hall has undergone major infrastructure improvements, including new heating and air conditioning. Work has also begun on the new underground academic space under East campus plaza that will house the Institute for Social and Economic Research Policy and the Language Resource Center.

"The need to upgrade teaching technology has become an opportunity to rethink classroom design, to create environments that encourage interaction among students and with faculty, enriching traditional models of teaching," said Lia Gartner, Assistant Vice President for Facilities Management Design and Construction.

The summer refresh program brought improvements and repairs to 79 registrar rooms. In its fourth year, the program, originally designed to keep up with the needs of high-traffic classrooms and maintain improvements, is building on years of improvements, including new flooring, lighting, chalkboards, furniture acoustics and air conditioning.