By Вen Li
While most students and staff enjoyed the summer, crews worked on some of the more than 600 annual renovation and construction projects on campus. Here are just a few of those projects.
MacEwan Hall/MacEwan Students’ Centre
Work on the new space above the bookstore in MacEwan Students’ Centre will continue into November, according to Students’ Union Vice-president Operations and Finance Matt Lauzon.
"They’ve finished priming the floor and ceiling," said Lauzon. "The new Stör should be finished in the next few weeks."
Renovations will also accommodate relocated clubs space, a new clubs business centre and the expansion of retailers. Renovations to areas of MacEwan Hall are in the works as well.
"The Copy Centre, Den and Black Lounge are slated to be demolished so that working drawings can be done for the new bar/restaurant," said Lauzon. "The new bar/restaurant is contingent on getting funding in place."
Funding is still an obstacle to the long-awaited MacEwan Hall expansion, which is expected to occupy the area east of MacEwan Hall. However, University of Calgary Director of Campus Planning Barry Kowalsky predicts a quick start for the project.
"Mac Hall expansion is a project that’s going to be starting fairly soon," said Kowalsky. "In fact, you’ll probably see a [CANA Construction] site sign pretty soon."
Completion of Mac Hall expansion is expected by fall 2001 and will require a $10 million loan from the Royal Bank.
Information Communications Technology Building
Students frequenting Engineering and Earth Sciences over the past week may have noticed that access to the land south of the ICT building was closed. According to Kowalsky, the closures will accommodate landscaping around the ICT building currently under construction.
"The building is a $32.5 million project," said Kowalsky. "It has five large classrooms on the main floor [and] will house the Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Departments."
The seven storey building, scheduled to open in 2001, will house about 17,000 square metres and provide five lecture theaters on the main floor. Also, there will be an enclosed walkway connecting the building to the existing Engineering Complex and Earth Sciences building where related construction is already underway.
"We’re upgrading the loading facility into Earth Sciences," said Kowalsky. "That [will] serve the Science complex and the new ICT building."
Science B
Science B underwent some redevelopment as well.
"What we’ve been doing over there is improving the energy flow for the building," said Kowalsky. "[We are] improving air quality, dealing with life safety issues [and] removing some asbestos."
The project, which was a part of the university-wide Energy Performance Contract, is expected to be completed by February 2001. Renovations to Science B will cost $4-5 million including work on classrooms.
"We have a program of upgrading and modernizing the classrooms," said Kowalsky. "[We] improved the lighting, the seats [to provide] more room for people to take notes and use laptops."
Kowalsky advised students to read campus newspapers for notices about closures and other renovation-related activities which cost the university an estimated $14 million each year.