While a majority of students are scattered across the globe-immersing themselves in summer internships or volunteer projects-construction workers have continued to work on campus and expect to put the finishing touches on a number of major construction projects before students return in the fall.
Both the West Campus Plaza, which will take the place of the former Bryan Center walkway, and the first-floor renovations of Perkins Library are set to be completed on schedule by mid-August, officials said this week.
In addition, the French Science Center is on schedule for completion in December, and departments will move in over winter break, Executive Vice President Tallman Trask said.
Aug. 14 is the official date of completion for the student plaza, said Larry Moneta, vice president for student affairs.
"Between now and then lots of fun stuff is going to happen," he said.
Before the plaza is completed, workers will remove walls along the Bryan Center, replacing them with glass panels. Doors will be added to the Great Hall and an entryway will be added to the plaza between the West Union Building and the Flowers Building.
Along with other changes to dining on campus, food carts will be included on the plaza following its August opening. Four carts are currently being proposed for the new space-three new food options plus Pauly Dogs, which will receive a new cart to serve its food, Director of Dining Services Jim Wulforst said.
Although the specific dining options are still in the works, carts serving coffee and ice cream are two examples of those being considered, Wulforst added.
As the concluding step in Phase 1 of the Perkins Project, the first-floor renovations of Perkins are expected to be completed by Aug. 15, said Deborah Jakubs, vice provost for library affairs.
Much of the library's reference and information services, currently housed on the first floor of Bostock Library, will be moved to Perkins before it reopens its doors.
"The real anchor for the library is Perkins' first floor," Jakubs said.
With its renovation, the new first floor of Perkins is planned to be an "information commons," with new technological and instructional capabilities.
More windows-looking out to the von der Heyden Pavilion in the front and to Bostock and the Fitzpatrick Center for Interdisciplinary Engineering, Medicine and Applied Sciences in the back-were added to Perkins to facilitate the flow of light into the library.
The interior was also redesigned to mimic the more modern style of Bostock, which opened last October.
When the French Science Center is completed in the winter, a number of departmental transitions will be made in order to take advantage of the newly completed areas.
The French Science Center will house a number of science departments, including the chemistry department-which will move out of the Gross Chemistry Building to make way for that structure's subsequent renovation.
The chemistry library will also be moved out of Gross Chemistry and integrated into the facilities at Bostock, Jakubs said.
With the completion of the student plaza, the University will turn its focus to an extensive renovation of the West Union Building and its surrounding structures. Although plans are in the preliminary stages, the University hopes to start early construction next summer, Trask said.
With the unifying qualities of the plaza, the University is envisioning the West Union, the West Campus Plaza, the Bryan Center and Page Auditorium as a more unified location for students, Trask said.
In more long-term plans, University officials also hope to restructure the way dining is handled in the West Union.
In two or three years, Wulforst said the University intends to redesign the interior of the building, opening up the space allowed for dining in order to provide a better environment for students.
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