As Williams Hall undergoes renovations set to begin this summer, faculty and staff occupying the building's upper floors will relocate for the year in the next few weeks to allow the work to begin.
The renovations to Williams will continue throughout the year as the building's ventilation system is overhauled and windows are replaced.
The improvements will "significantly change the living conditions in Williams," according to Ramin Sedehi, School of Arts and Sciences vice dean for finance and administration.
The majority of the work to classrooms will be complete in time for use in the fall semester. However, some classrooms located between the fourth and eighth floors will be moved to space in the former Hillel building at 36th and Locust streets, once Hillel has settled into its new space at Steinhardt Hall in Hamilton Village.
Using the former Hillel building for classroom space is intended only as a temporary arrangement for one year, according to Sedehi.
The renovations will replace all of the windows in Williams, giving the building an updated look with more efficient windows, some of which will be able to open and close.
Additionally, the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems of the building will be updated.
"It will make it a much more pleasant place to be," Sedehi said.
The cost of the window replacements will come to $1.2 million, which was approved by the University Board of Trustees at its February 2003 meeting. The total cost of the project, including ventilation upgrades, will total $3.5 million, according to Sedehi. The renovations are being financed both by the School of Arts and Sciences and the University.
Williams houses a number of departments, including Romance Languages, Germanic Languages, Asian American Studies, Asian and Middle Eastern Studies and the African Studies Program.
Because there is no single space on campus large enough to accommodate all of the displaced departmental offices, they will be spread among various locations.
While the majority of the departments will relocate to different buildings on Market Street, some of the smaller departments will be temporarily housed in Bennett Hall.
Williams was completed in 1972. It most recently underwent work to create the Silfen Study Center as part of the Perelman Quadrangle project completed in the fall of 2000.
