Construction Update Winter 2007 / 2008

When visitors envision Yale University, images of Neo-Gothic monuments to the early 20th century easily come to mind. While it is true that much of the Old Campus is a testament to the Collegiate Gothic vision of architects James Gamble Rogers and John Russell Pope as well as many other prominent architects of the era, Yale University’s landscape is actually peppered with several other styles, including Georgian and Modern Architecture. One only needs to head down to 73 Sachem Street to view the design of Eero Saarinen’s ‘Whale’ to see the diversity of our architecture. Keeping in mind the rich architectural heritage of the campus, Yale Facilities Construction & Renovation is proudly managing several projects which will both further enhance the existing structures as well as create new space for expanding programs and departments. The following is a brief description of the Major Projects for the 2007-2008 academic year;

On Science Hill, five exciting projects are in the process of being designed and constructed. The design of Kroon Hall for Forestry & Environmental Sciences (FES) is cutting-edge, displaying the latest advances in sustainable design. The building is expected to be open for occupancy by the fall of 2008. In conjunction with Kroon Hall, the Science Hill Southwest Service Node is currently being erected and will benefit several buildings on Science Hill. It will consolidate all service areas into one central site built underground, adjacent to Kroon Hall. Rounding out the new development for Science Hill is the new Yale Biology Building (YBB), scheduled to begin construction in 2009. This state of the art research building will consolidate Biology’s Molecular,Cellular and Develpmental Biology group ( MCDB ) research functions currently housed in the Osborn Memorial Laboratory (OML) and the Kline Biology Tower (KBT) into one location.

While the new designs of Kroon Hall, the Southwest Service Node and YBB will add to the diverse environment of Science Hill, the future comprehensive renovation and addition to the Sterling and Kline Chemistry Labs (SCL/KCL) will allow these classic buildings to retain their original design, while providing innovative new classrooms, labs and research spaces. Tentatively set to begin in September of 2009, the new SCL/KCL Renovation and Addition will continue construction until 2014. Also undergoing a renovation is the Kline Geology Laboratory (KGL) Lecture Hall. The renovation will provide greater accessibility at the entry doors and expanded seating for the disabled at the rear of the room, new audio-visual equipment, new front demonstration table, and blackboards & new fixed seating and lighting improvements. Completion is expected in the fall of 2007. In addition, there is a building systems rehabilitation that is presently being designed for KGL. This project will correct capital maintenance and code concerns and upgrade most of the mechanical systems as the first phase of a two part comprehensive renovation. A new, consolidated air handling unit will be located on the roof behind a screened panel and the other equipment in the mechanical rooms will be replaced in sequence, allowing the building to remain occupied throughout. Construction is scheduled to begin in March of 2008 and will continue through the summer of 2009.

To the south of Science Hill on the corner of Whitney and Sachem Streets, the renovation of and addition to the Department of Anthropology Building at 158 Whitney is close to completion. The main entry to this building will be off of Sachem Street resulting in a new address for the facility, 10 Sachem Street. The addition will facilitate the consolidation and expansion of the Anthropology Department.

Yale’s residential colleges are an integral part of our rich architectural history. Maintaining and restoring the beauty of our colleges while updating them is pivotal to Yale’s construction and renovation campaign. At the end of Hillhouse Avenue, on Grove Street, the final phase of the Silliman College Renovation is coming to a close. Silliman College students will be delighted to return to their updated college, with new sensitively restored living suites, common rooms and activity spaces, for the 2007-2008 academic year. Jonathan Edwards College began its renovation this summer and will be ready for students in the fall of 2008. The next residential college set for renovation is Calhoun, scheduled to begin construction in May of 2008 and be completed by the fall of 2009.

In the heart of Central Campus at Cross Campus, Yale’s underground library, Cross Campus Library (CCL) is undergoing a major renovation. It is being completely redesigned to have an architectural appeal similar to that of the adjacent Sterling Memorial Library (SML). The design parallels the spirit of the surrounding architecture. This renovation will also address issues such as accessibility for the disabled and structural deterioration of the two-story library. Both CCL and the Machine City are known for their group study atmosphere as people gather to meet for both social and academic purposes. Thus, the design for the renovated CCL calls for more meeting rooms and open spaces. CCL has been shut down since the summer of 2006 and will re-open soon. All CCL collections and services have been temporarily relocated to SML.

At the corner of York and Chapel sits the Art and Architecture building (A&A), which is currently undergoing a comprehensive renovation, and the new History of Art Building (HoA), also under construction. HoA will provide classrooms, lecture halls, administrative offices beneath and more for the expansion of the History of Art Department. Both projects are expected to be completed by July of 2008. At that time, renovations to the Old Art Gallery and Street Hall will commence and activities will be relocated to the new History of Art Building. These will complete the restoration and development of the Yale University Art Gallery by December, 2010.

As a result of the Art and Architecture renovation, A & A students have recently moved into the new Sculpture Building and Garage, which was just completed this past summer. Bordered by Howe, Edgewood and Chapel Streets, the new Sculpture Building and Garage provides a modern and larger location for the Sculpture program at Yale. Sculpture students will later occupy the building upon completion of the A&A Renovation.

Responding to the need for more conference space for international visitors, designs are being developed for the Greenberg Conference Center, which will be located adjacent to the Betts House on Prospect Street. The new conference center will provide a permanent and professional venue for internationally focused programs. The facility’s 12,480 GSF design will incorporate flexibility in order to support other Yale events in addition to those with an international focus.

The 2003 Social Science Planning Study recommended a new building for social science academic use. In October 2007, this plan will begin to come to fruition with the ground breaking of construction for the Social Science Academic Building. Located on Prospect Street between Trumbull and Sachem Streets, the building is scheduled for completion in June of 2009, making way for the first phase of the Social Science Initiative, which allows for the future development of other sites now occupied by Political Science and Sociology.

Working in conjunction with the City of New Haven, which plans to replace the deteriorated bridge on Hillhouse Avenue, Yale will provide certain design improvements to the new bridge. These include two sets of sidewalks that are aligned with and separated from the roadway to let additional natural light down onto the Farmington Canal path, new lighting and landscaping. This work is to be completed by the summer of 2008.

As you can see, our residential, infrastructure, academic and cultural expansion and renovation projects have been astounding over the past year. But, these types of projects aren’t the only ones that Yale Facilities Construction & Renovation has managed for the University. Yale’s athletic facilities are in the midst of rejuvenation as well. The renovation and addition of Cullman Heyman Tennis Courts will provide users with a state of the art facility by end of 2008. The Yale Bowl has been experiencing renovations over the past few years and will continue to be renovated over the course of this academic year with the addition of the Kenney Field Center, slated for construction to begin in May of 2008. Ingalls Rink or “The Yale Whale” is currently in the design phase for a comprehensive renovation and addition, tentatively scheduled for construction to begin in July of 2009. This exciting project will add an additional 14,000 GSF to the existing building and perform a comprehensive renovation and restoration of the existing rink.

Central to the Athletics program is the Payne Whitney Gymnasium, which will be undergoing a massive, three year, six phase project to renovate its exterior envelope beginning in March of 2008. The project includes complete masonry repair and restoration to the Briar Hill sandstone, new windows and new roofs.

There are also plans to build a new University Health Services Center and Garage, which will begin construction in February of 2008. The new building will be 137,830 GSF and be located on the corner of Locke and Canal Streets. The new building will help the Yale Health Plan to expand medical services to reduce outsourcing, provide additional space as needed to increase operational efficiency, provide additional space to accommodate anticipated future membership growth as well as providing medical equipment and computers. The safety and ease of accessibility has been taken into consideration with the design including a large security monitoring station and ample parking, directly connected to the building. By December of 2009, The Yale Health Plan will be ready to accept patients at the new facility.

As you can see, this never ending cycle of renovating and adding to our buildings allows Yale Construction and Renovation to maintain the historic buildings of our past while ensuring that we have state-of-the art facilities to take Yale into the future.