A Campus Metamorphosis

The Morningside makeover continued over the past months as Columbia began and completed a variety of construction projects.

At the end of last semester, Butler Library was saddled with scaffolding across its neoclassical facade as part of it’s “multi-phase restoration.” Dan Held, director of communications for Facilities, said that the Columbia-facing facades and much of the infrastructural work on the roof had been completed. The remaining refurbishment of the south facade and rooftop will continue until June 2008.

The hub of campus, College Walk, also saw its share of change during the summer vacation. The path was completely repaved from the bottom layers of concrete and sand and the drainage system was revised to prevent flooding. Before, the central campus way was too flat to drain properly into the sewers, but now, its curvatures allow for better flow of runoff water during downpours.

The face-lift of College Walk did not end there. Black-light matching the ones across the wider campus have been added. Meant to “achieve consistency,” according to Held, they also “incorporate a special lighting system which is notable for its light quality, low energy consumption, and longevity.” This new lighting system uses 20 percent less energy to produce the same light output as the previous system.

Keeping ecologically-minded, the old paving stones from the campus were recycled, and the new pavers were made from 25 percent recycled material, according to the Facilities statement on the restoration.

Additionally, the curbing of College Walk was redone in granite. “It used to be concrete, but it looks nicer—it ties better into the architectural vocabulary of the campus,” Held said.

Construction continued on the as-yet unnamed science building going up on the northwest corner of campus. Still in its early stages, the summer months saw increased excavation of the site. In an e-mail from Held detailing the summer progress of the project, he said that “Excavation has progressed well,” and that this excavation would be completed by October. According to Held, rock chopping and installation of the foundation and new superstructure will commence in early spring 2008”.

A groundbreaking on the building will occur in February 2008 in hopes of a scheduled completion in fall 2010.

Columbia’s campus is not the only one to undergoing significant changes. The McIntosh Center on Barnard’s campus has been demolished. In its stead will be the new and also as-yet nameless Nexus Center, set to add 70,000 square feet of space for the varied activities that McIntosh held and more to the campus.

“What we offered in McIntosh is still here,” said Julio Vazquez, director of Facilities Services at Barnard Facilities, noting that all of the offices and amenities once housed in McIntosh have been relocated to other buildings. Currently, the construction crew is working on the excavation process, which is expected to be completed next month.

Taylor Napolitano can be reached at taylor.napolitano@columbiaspectator.com.