Track Alter Hall progress by viewing the AlterCam.
Another Building Tour
May 10th, 2008 ( Permalink )This past Wednesday, a small group of us toured Alter Hall. Progress on all floors is substantial, with drywall completed in many spaces, and framing for classrooms, lecture halls and the auditorium sufficient enough to reflect the spaces they will soon become.
In the photo above, Fox Director of Computer Services Vik Singh shares notes with Special Events Coordinator Nancy Korotkin outside of one of the 15 undergraduate breakout rooms on the 2nd floor.
West Wall Revealed
May 1st, 2008 ( Permalink )Some of the scaffolding on the lower three levels has come down on the Liacouras side of Alter Hall exposing recently completed brick work. Also pictured is the second floor undergraduate student lounge outside collaboration/breakout rooms, and a third floor area where several members of the Dean’s Office will reside.
A Year of Progress
April 17th, 2008 ( Permalink )To appreciate how far L.F. Driscoll and the contractors have progressed from last April until now, you have only to compare the two images below. The one at left was shot April 25,
2007, the one at right, April 17, 2008. Basically, the Alter site was a big hole!
Today those walls are in place, and the brick, glass, and stone facade is nearly completed. By summer most of the exterior work will have been done while interior work is progressing nicely.
Then There Was Glass
April 16th, 2008 ( Permalink )Those construction devils snuck in some glass while I had my back turned. This photo shows placement of the first glass in the “punched” windows on the north side of Alter Hall.
With temperature in the 70s and trees blossoming all over campus, I wandered out on Liacouras Walk and caught a glimpse of Alter Hall looking south.
Tinted Glass Delivered
April 3rd, 2008 ( Permalink )Today crews began off-loading crates of tinted glass to be used in Alter Hall window frames and for the curtain walls on the north and south sides.
I have been asked many times, “Is Alter Hall on schedule?” YES. While the outside appears incomplete, work inside is pretty far along. Sheet rock is up on floors 1-5, and metal studs are in place on the others. We are still projecting spring ‘09 as the date when Alter Hall will open for classes.
Tinted Glass from John DeAngelo on Vimeo.
Auditorium Walls Take Shape
March 24th, 2008 ( Permalink )
Here on the lower level you can see metal studs forming the exterior wall of the 270-seat auditorium. You can also see a curving staircase leading to the main entrance at the south side of the building facing Montgomery Avenue.
The Brickman Cometh
March 10th, 2008 ( Permalink )With apologies to Eugene O’Neil, I want you to take a closer look at floors 4-6 on the north side of Alter Hall adjoining Speakman. Notice the completed brick face. Pretty soon window frames will be delivered (not the windows themselves), and the brick work will spread to the south side of Alter Hall. The views below are of the Montgomery Street (L) and Liacouras Walk (R) sides looking toward center city.
Cast Stone Arrives
March 3rd, 2008 ( Permalink )If you look at the exterior rendering in the banner above, you will see white horizontal bands around Alter Hall on the first three floors that provide visual continuity to Speakman Hall, which also has cast stone bands on all three floors. Below I’ve captured a pallet of pre-cast blocks being put in place on the 3rd floor facing Montgomery Avenue.
Leap Day 2008
February 29th, 2008 ( Permalink )On this one-every-four year-occasion, and before we jump into March, I thought we should get a snapshot of progress on the outside the building. Behind the white sheathing on the north side of Alter, masons are laying a brick facade. Photo courtesy of Betsy Manning.
Stairway to Somewhere
February 28th, 2008 ( Permalink )One of Alter Hall’s most visible interior architectural features is the “free-floating” 1st floor lounge connected by a dramatic curving staircase to the floor below. Here you see an artist’s rendering of the lounge and stairway, and to the right, the actual circular stairway being installed now.
John DeAngelo