After months of construction delays, students taking classes at the Annenberg School for Communication will shortly be able to enjoy a flowery entrance from Locust Walk.
The entrance is already open to the public, although construction equipment is still scattered around and beautification efforts are yet to come.
"We still have some work to do," Annenberg Building Administrator Deb Porter said. "It's 97 percent done, but it will take another couple of weeks."
What is now missing is the greenery -- mostly ivies -- that the original design intended to be planted next to the plaza's new benches. Porter said this task will be completed in the spring.
Due to be unveiled in the first days of November, construction work was delayed by two issues, one of which had to do with ongoing repairs behind the building.
"It involves telecommunication and electrical ductbank -- underground conduits for cables and wires," Managing Director of Design and Construction Management Mark Wilson said.
The other issue concerns the plaza directly.
The delay "is weather-related -- it's cold out there, and some final grounding and caulking freeze before attachment," Wilson said, explaining the technical reasons behind the extra months of work. "We can still use the plaza, but we are dealing with the ice. Construction workers are told to keep the snow equipment off of [the plaza] because it is also the classrooms' roof."
Students using the plaza for access to Annenberg are satisfied with the results.
"I think it's a really nice design," College junior and communications major Natalie Francis said. "Beforehand, it was a little odd, but now it works better with the building."
She added that "using the Walnut Street entrance was a little bit of an inconvenience, but it wasn't too bad."
Some students were uncertain about the causes of the delays, and said they did not know enough about the process to make any judgments.
Wilson said that delays resulted from the attention each project received.
"There is a significant amount of planning, so when we open the ground, we do as much as possible for the future."
With works in the final stages, Annenberg School administrators are considering whether to hold a ceremony.
"Nothing is planned at the moment, but we definitely want to do something," Annenberg School Dean Michael Delli Carpini said. "If it happens, it will be in the spring, when the plants are in bloom."
