Front to back and top to bottom, Mulvane Science Hall will be unrecognizable by the fall of 2012.
Not only will more than 9,000 square feet be added to the back of Mulvane, but the entire inside of the current building will be excavated and rebuilt.
Professor of Biology Darcy Russell knew about the idea of building a new science building since she was hired at Baker University in 1998, and after several plans were presented, the project is close to beginning.
“To be to the point now where everybody believes it’s going to happen is really cool,” said Rand Ziegler, vice president and dean of the college of arts and sciences. “And, having been around all of that time where we either didn’t know if it was or thought it wasn’t, it’s really kind of exciting to think that it can.”
Construction of the four-floor addition to Mulvane is scheduled to begin in September.
The gutting and rebuilding of Mulvane will take place during the summer of 2012 and the entire makeover is scheduled to be completed by August 2012.
For the inside, in addition to labs and offices, there will also be student lounge areas, complete with chairs, tables and microwaves to create a studying area on three of the four floors in the new Mulvane addition.
“This is something that not many other schools have for an academic building,” freshman biology major Sean Webb said. “When prospective students come and see that we don’t just have any ordinary science hall but one to study in and hang out in also, they’ll hopefully be impressed.”
While Russell said the renovation and addition is essential to doing what is right for students, challenges will accompany the changes.
One is after the renovation, the building, as a whole, will only have one classroom.
“Because it’s smaller than the dream building was, we had to make a sacrifice,” Russell said. “We chose to sacrifice what we think is the type of space that can most easily be constructed elsewhere, and that is the classic classroom.”
Russell said the laboratories, except for the chemistry labs, are being designed in a way that the lecture portion of the class can be held in the labs, as they will contain projectors and screens.
Chief Operating Officer Susan Lindahl said the university is looking to make up some space by turning offices into classrooms once the reopening of Denious Hall takes place.
“Because as we move into Denious this fall, that will allow us to repurpose some of that space, and I think that’s very exciting for us to be able to do that,” Lindahl said.
Another issue comes with the timing of the project.
The existing building will not be disturbed during the fall semester, but everything must be out of the building by May 2012 to begin work on renovating the current building.
“There’s going to be chaos,” Russell said. “Next spring, there’s no way, when you’re doing this, that you can’t have a period of chaos.”
A decision has not yet been made on how to adjust schedules to accommodate the move.
“One thing I’ve learned in this job is, even when there’s not money or resources, there’s always creative solutions to things,” Ziegler said.
As for Mulvane, Russell is just looking forward to the beginning of the construction.
“When I get a shovel in my hand for the groundbreaking, I might cry,” Russell said. “I’ve worked hard on this for a long time.”