Archive for the ‘Speakman’ Category
The Blogger is Baaack.
Wednesday, June 18th, 2008Temporary Entrance to Lower Level
Well, what have they done to our familiar and functional Speakman Hall? My first day back (Tuesday) I had to enter through the handicap entrance, take the stair tower to the lower level, then grab the elevator to the Dean’s Office on the 1st floor. Today there’s a new temporary entrance next to and below the handicap entrance that takes you to the LL5 Suite outside Fox Computer Services. Once there, you navigate Speakman by using the stairwell or elevator (preferred).
Speakman Entrance Coming Down
Thursday, May 29th, 2008After removing steps and stones on the 13th Street entrance to Speakman Hall last week, workers have begun disassembling window panes one at a time. After removing one of the top panels, the lift descends and you can see that all the lower glass panels have been removed.
Speakman Glass Panels from John DeAngelo on Vimeo.
Now for the Metal Strips
Thursday, May 29th, 2008Yestersday you saw a membrane being applied to 2nd floor concrete floor (see below). Today they have begun laying the diamond pattern to be used for terrazzo floors in Speakman and Alter Halls.
Here you see both the blue grid lines and the first 3/8″ metal strips laid. By Monday marble chips in epoxy will fill the grid.
Terrazzo Prep
Wednesday, May 28th, 2008No, it’s not the name of an exclusive Italian boarding school, but a description of the processes used to prepare the concrete surface before epoxy terrazzo is laid in Speakman Hall. Terrazzo’s origins, however, are undeniably Italian. Venetian workers first used marble chips embedded in concrete from higher-end villa installations to build patios and public walkways. What is epoxy terrazzo? Its a process that embeds marble chips in a polymer (epoxy) to create a smooth, shiny, and durable finish for floors and walls.
(Below) After scoring the floor for adhesion, a thin membrane is rolled on to suppress cracks in the concrete sub-surface.
“Dirty Jobs” Underway in Speakman Hall
Monday, May 19th, 2008Beginning May 16, demolition and construction crews were hard at work preparing the 1st and 2nd floors of Speakman Hall for new smart classrooms and terrazzo floors that will match finishes and technologies to be found in Alter Hall. Below is a quick slide tour of “abatement” to remove old floor tiles, temporary walls built to protect the interior during the demolition of two entrances, and “deconstruction” of Speakman classrooms.
Dirty Jobs Begin In Speakman from John DeAngelo on Vimeo.
13th Street Speakman Entrance To Close
Wednesday, May 14th, 2008
Beginning Thursday, May 15, work on a new facade for the 13th Street entrance to Speakman Hall will begin, requiring that that the current entrance close for much of the summer. During construction you must use the handicapped entrance on the Northwest corner of Speakman Hall opposite Shusterman Hall.
The Liacouras Walk entrance facade will also be removed in the next 7-10 days, after which the handicapped entrance will be the only way to enter and exit the building.
All summer classes originally scheduled in Speakman have been moved to other buildings. Undergraduate enrollment, advising and honors have been temporarily relocated to the 4th floor of SAC II.
Meanwhile, Back in Speakman
Monday, May 12th, 2008Crews have finished removing tile from the 2nd and 1st floor corridors in preparation for laying terrazzo flooring on both levels, a process that is expected to take 8-10 weeks.
Speakman Transformation
Monday, January 7th, 2008While Alter Hall progresses daily, there is a ton of work being done inside Speakman Hall to modernize, brighten, and marry the forty-year-old four level building to the eight level Alter Hall. Workmen are taking advantage of the four week break between semesters to completely transform the hallways of Speakman. I have already shown you glimpses of the new ceilings and lights, but in the two views below you can see how much brighter and contemporary Speakman will look when completed. While the two corridors aren’t an exact match, you can clearly see how both ceilings and walls have changed.
Left: Old Hallway - Right: New Hallway with Limestone Block Treatment
Another project underway is the introduction of a barrel-vaulted ceiling in the main Speakman corridor. While much work remains to be done, below you can see the domed ceiling that will replace the original flat, unlighted ceiling. The concrete side walls will be treated with the same limestone coating as seen above, but the original Tyler School of Art murals (hidden behind plastic sheeting) will be preserved.
Limestone Blocks
Wednesday, November 21st, 2007Work on a sample wall located on the 1st floor of Speakman is nearly complete. Here is one portion of the area treated on the west-side wall. The material is trowled on the old wall and scored to create the impression of 2′ X 3′ limestone blocks. The image at left is the finished wall. The image at right shows the a substrate material applied before the finish coat.
The “treated” wall at left alongside the original wall at right.
A Facelift for Speakman Halls
Sunday, November 18th, 2007
As part of the continuing renovation of Speakman Hall, workmen are preparing a portion of the northeast corridor on the 1st floor with a wall treatment that will change the texture, appearance and color of the walls on the 1st and 2nd floors. The process is a stucco-like resurfacing that will create a 2’ X 3’ sandstone, block pattern on the walls. This is only a sample application. If the “look†is what the architects believe  it will be,  more  work will be done this summer.
John DeAngelo