In a little less than one year, it’ll be complete.
Well, not quite. The finishing touches will be added next school year, but by mid-October 2005, the 30-year old Center for the Arts will have a new face.
Inside the shell of the new building, concrete blocks are piled neatly in rows. Stacks of air ducts sit on the floor, awaiting installation. Hundreds of metal studs line hallways, marking future offices and storage rooms. Workers would never guess the building is occupied by hundreds of students and dozens of faculty members – except for the occasional tune of a tuba down the hall.
David Mayhew, director for architecture, engineering and construction, said about $42 million has been allotted for the project. It is on schedule and on budget, he said.
This week traffic patterns on Cross Campus Drive have been modified as a large crane places mechanical units onto the building’s roof.
The building will nearly double in size, from its current 166,000 sq. feet to a projected 288,000 sq. feet.
Towson broke ground on the project in May 2003, but the most visible aspects of the construction appeared on the horizon over the summer, as the building’s new north wing rose from concrete pilings.
One side of the building was demolished to make way for the four-story addition. An “L wing” is also being constructed along Osler Drive.
The renovations will move the front door of the building to Cross Campus Drive, thus connecting the complex to the rest of campus. A new entrance across from the Union Parking Garage will lead into a student commons on the second floor. The area is an airy, open space, complete with skylights and room for a future café.
“You certainly get drawn up into the space,” Mayhew said, pointing toward the grand staircase, which connects the second and third floors.
In the original building, “it was easy to get lost,” he pointed out. But when the renovations are complete, all of the building’s public venues – performance spaces and theaters – will be aligned along a grand atrium in the middle of the building.
University officials said the project’s complexity has been compounded by the fact that the building has been in use during the renovations.
“The whole construction schedule has been based around semesters,” facilities management project manager Mickey Miller explained.
“We often have to build around existing spaces, but this has been the most challenging,” Mayhew said, stressing the challenge of ensuring that students can safely use the building as construction continues nearby.
Jean Miller, chair for the art department, said the inconveniences are minor compared to the improvements on the way.
“It’s been a challenging task to hold classes while construction is going on, but I have to say the students and faculty have been terrific in adapting to those challenges,” she said. “Every day there’s a new surprise in terms of something that’s been constructed or moved, and they’ve been very flexible.”
The dance department, currently located in Burdick Hall, will move to the renovated facility.
Theater classes are being taught in Enrollment Services and at the Towson Center this semester. Tom Cascella, interim chair for the theater department, said the construction had not affected theater students too dramatically.
“We’re pretty resilient,” he said. “We’re doing pretty well with it, and we’re happy with the progress. Every time we go in, we see something new happening.”
The original building had two theaters. The addition includes a brand new studio theater. The department originally had only two acting classrooms. This time next year, it will have five.
Many of the new rooms are being built for with specific uses in mind. Theater and dance classrooms will have wood floors built especially for performance. Music classrooms have been designed with acoustics in mind.
Parts of the building have already been renovated and reopened for student use. Ceramics and sculpture students are working in classrooms that were renovated last school year. The building’s "L wing" is in use by the theater department. The new spaces will be completed by next fall.
All the exterior windows, walls and doors should be in place by Christmas, when the building is scheduled to be completely enclosed.
“We have to get the exterior envelope completed,” project manager Miller said. “Then we can work on the inside.”
Mayhew said all of the details, “right down to the colors and finishes,” have been determined.
“It’ll be a lot of fun when people come in here for the first time,” he added.
The University is planning a series of ribbon-cutting events for the weekend of Oct. 14, 2005.
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