After more than a year of planning and preparation, and the start in late March of renovations to create the Master's Commons working area for M.S. students on the second floor, the campus has announced that additions and renovations to the first floor and basement of the Computer Science and Engineering building will get underway on Friday, April 22. The construction will involve adding 4,500 square feet of new meeting-room spaces.
Campus architect and assistant vice chancellor for Facilities Design and Construction, Wm. Joel King, AIA, made the announced on April 19, setting an expected completion date for the work next January 4, 2017. "Work will include a small addition, a trellis structure, and interior and exterior renovations," King wrote in an April 19 campus-wide announcement. "Renovations will include demolition and reconstruction of interior partitions and finishes on the first floor and in the basement... [while] exterior renovations will include the removal of the existing skylight and surrounding paving, and the installation of new presentation and conference space along the west side. It will also include minor work on the south side of the building, which includes an enlarged bicycle parking pad, a new access stair and signage."
The contractor will be locating a large trash dumpster and storage units in the dock area between Atkinson Hall and the CSE building (from which the CUPS cafe has moved for the duration to across the courtyard in front of Powell-Focht Bioengineering Hall). As a result, access through the dock area will be limited to the construction team and trash pick-up crews, and the west side of Voigt Drive will be used for the installation and removal of the recycling dumpsters and delivery of fencing and construction materials. Detours and signage (e.g., illustrating alternate paths) will direct vehicles and pedestrians around the impacted areas (see map above), and pedestrians and bicyclists will also experience interruptions due to construction on Warren Walk and along Voigt Drive across from Warren College Housing.
Flaggers will also be present to direct traffic. Updates will continue to be provided throughout the construction period. The department says that work on the Master's Commons area will run simultaneously with the work on lower floors, at least until the work on the second floor is completed in late May.
Complaints about noise, safety, access and other problems may inconvenience some campus visitors and CSE personnel, but the campus architect has assured the department that access from the courtyard into the basement will be accessible throughout the duration of the project. Comments are welcomed via an online form embedded in the CSE website that offers detailed information about all pending renovation and building projects in and around the building.
Visit the CSE Renovatoin Projects website or take the project survey.