Renovations to merge four Quad houses into three

The plans also call for improvements to the dormitory's infrastructure. and Sharon Male As part of the first stage of the University's $300 million dorm and dining hall renovation project, officials announced plans yesterday that will significantly restructure college houses in the Quadrangle and renovate the facility's existing infrastructure. Renovations on the Quad will begin this summer in the first installment of a four-summer renovation package that will carry over slightly into the school years. The entire project will take about four years to complete and will tap approximately one-fourth of the University's stated $300 million dollar renovation budget. The project must be approved by University President Judith Rodin, Executive Vice President John Fry and Provost Robert Barchi. Home to approximately 1,500 students, the Quad's four college houses will be merged into three, each with one faculty master, two faculty fellows and a house dean -- the same number of officials who serve the four current houses. The new layout of the college houses will include a third entrance gate and will correspond more closely with the physical landscape of the Quad, according to Project Manager Blaze Makoid of the architecture firm Ewing Cole Cherry Brott. Officials said they hope this goal will be achieved by centering the three college houses around courtyards, entranceways and mailrooms that each college house can call its own. The project will also be introducing more "diversity" into the dorms by adding private bathrooms and more single rooms in an attempt to entice upperclassmen to stay in the Quad, which has been a traditionally first-year dorm. Director of College Houses and Academic Services David Brownlee, one of the masterminds behind the college house program, said the current college houses in the Quad are "rather weak" in that they lack an "identifiable center." One of the three college houses will occupy all of Upper Quad, while the second is to reach from the Junior Balcony to the edge of the "baby Quad." The third college house will be made up of the remaining areas of Lower Quad adjacent to the 36th Street side. All of the Quad's college houses will contain approximately 500 students -- similar to the size of many of the current houses throughout campus. Makoid added that "architectural innovations can be taken advantage of to create a clearer identity for each of the college houses." Each building will be furnished with new doors distinctive to the individual college houses. A third gate will be opened between the buildings that currently house Community and Ware college houses and will access Hamilton Walk. Lighting inside the Quad and on Hamilton Walk will be increased to provide a safer navigable space. Additional classrooms and the expansion of common areas will also foster community spirit and enhance the intellectual life of students, officials said. New music and seminar rooms, office suites and computer labs will be added, and underutilized space -- such as the basement of Community House -- will also be put to greater use. In addition to fostering house unity, Makoid said the increased accessibility to Leidy Laboratories, the Nursing Educational Building and the Morgan Building on Hamilton Walk will "make the complex more interactive with campus." Elevators, ramps and other accommodations will be added to the Quad in accordance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and improvements to the heat and air-conditioning systems will be added toward the end of the four-summer renovation process. Improvements will also be made to the sanitation system. By the time the renovations are complete, garbage containers will likely be hidden from view and picked up in a quieter fashion to make the system more discreet, Brownlee said. Renovations will be almost entirely completed during the summers, when students are away from campus. The Quad will never be closed to students during the school year, although some subterranean infrastructure work will take place at that time, according to officials. Funds for the renovations will be obtained from the University housing and dining funds, as well as through private donations. Proceeds from the University-owned Sheraton Hotel will also be funneled into the project. Officials said that while there will be a number of naming opportunities for donors, parts of the Quad will retain their current names. The changes to the Quad will largely be cosmetic because the dormitory is a historical landmark and cannot be drastically restructured. "We need to respect the wonderful historic architecture that we have," Brownlee said, adding that many of the renovations will be aimed at the infrastructure of the buildings. Officials emphasized the importance of collaboration with students, faculty and staff throughout the planning stages and renovation process. "If we're going to err, we will err on the side of too much consultation," Associate Vice President for Campus Services Larry Moneta stressed. College freshman Michael Pezzicola, vice chairperson of the Residential Advisory Board, said the primary goal of the process is to "involve the current four houses in the development of future ones." Committees composed of students, faculty and administrators are currently set up by location, the largest of which represent the four houses of the Quadrangle and the five college houses that comprise Hamilton Village. The latter committee is also poised to meet soon with several architectural firms to begin work planning new dorms for Superblock. When renovations are further underway, subcommittees of students from each individual house will be formed to meet with architects and University officials to guide the process. Kenwyn Smith, faculty master of Ware College House, emphasized the importance of strong relationships between students and architects. "We want student life-rhythms to be the determinant of the renovations," Smith said. The plans were officially unveiled last night in McClelland Hall.