 | Fall 2006 |
Pioneer Hall, Theatre Undergo Facelift
"An excerpt from the Fall 2006 REFLECTIONS magazine"
Since 1976, Pioneer Hall has served as the "home" for students studying mechanical and electrical engineering. Now the facility is being updated and enlarged using $12 million from the state of Michigan, along with an additional $4 million that the University will add for construction costs.
To accommodate the renovation and expansion project, faculty, students and teaching labs have relocated to what was originally SVSU's first performing arts theatre, which today looks almost nothing like what it did just a few months ago.
"We renovated (the theatre) because we wanted to make better use of the building," said Steve Hocquard, assistant vice president for campus facilities. "Right now, the plan is to use it for temporary engineering laboratories, but eventually it will become studio space for our art majors."
Presently, students who create sculptures and other art works have very limited space for that purpose in the Arbury Fine Arts Center. Hocquard says that the lack of work areas makes it a challenge for students taking studio courses to keep their creations in one place throughout the semester.
"Sculpture students have to share the same space with those doing paintings, and there just isn't enough room to leave their work out while they're creating it," Hocquard explained. "Once the engineering labs are moved back into Pioneer Hall, art students will have a much larger area for creating and completing studio work." Art courses still will be taught in Arbury, according to Hocquard.
During the summer, foundations and underground utilities were installed for the addition to Pioneer Hall, which will become an L-shaped facility. When students returned to school for fall classes, steel was just beginning to be put into place. Hocquard noted that work will continue throughout the winter; the project is targeted for completion by August 2007.
Robert Tuttle, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, is one of more than a dozen faculty who have been displaced when construction started last spring. In addition to moving his faculty office to the South Campus Complex, Tuttle had to assist with the relocation of the mechanical engineering labs to the temporary facility.
"Relocating my office and the engineering labs took almost a month to pack and move," said Tuttle. "It was pretty hectic because we packed while finishing winter classes in Pioneer. Everyone is excited about the new classrooms, as well as foundry, bio-fuels, engine dyno, and automotive performance labs that are being added to Pioneer Hall. When all is said and done, the inconvenience of the move will be more than worth it."