A Remarkable Journey: Inside the Education Building

Friday, September 04, 2009 -

The transformation has been nothing short of dramatic — and it’s not yet complete.

When I put on my hard hat and pass through the fence surrounding the Education Building on Bascom Hill every week or two, I can always count on seeing several things that have changed since my previous visit.  In short, my mission is to find progress and photograph it.

The odyssey began on a brisk January day in 2009, with a big shovel unceremoniously chomping away on the sections attached to the north side of the old building.  The mechanized beast quickly reduced these familiar structures to piles of rubble to be carted away.

Inside, crews began going from floor to floor, tearing out fixtures and knocking down wall after wall. I got a front-row seat for the wrestling match that brought down the walls of my old office, and then saw the old light fixture not-so-gently ripped from the ceiling.

Before my eyes, workers stripped the building down into a mere shell, revealing such hidden features as old checkerboard wallpaper and an iron support structure that looked like it was built with a giant’s erector set. The removal of the building’s least-used staircase opened a spectacular chasm from the third floor down to the foundation.

Rambling across open stretches of worn, creaking floors felt surreal …. other worldly. Standing in one of the scattered pockets of silence, I could hear pounding, crashing and clattering from other floors.

In this condition, Old Education felt rather melancholy … alone and deserted, especially in the original 1900 section, where the wood-beam structure had been exposed.  I swear I could almost hear the old building sigh.

(Also apparent at this point was the stark contrast between the wood-beam construction of the 1900 building and the all-concrete construction of the west wing, added in 1910. What a difference 10 years makes.)

But no sooner had the building been gutted than signs of renewal began to emerge. In the original 1900 section, old worn floors were replaced. From the west wing, new wring and ventilation began to snake their way throughout, followed soon after by steel-stud framing for walls that would define new spaces.

On the north side of the building, the footprints and foundation for a new east wing and central classroom and commons section began taking shape, with footings and utility work. Scaffolding crept up and around the façade of the existing building, so the old brickwork could be spruced up.

Old Education didn’t have much time to sit and sulk.

I’ve attempted to capture this massive makeover through photographs, visually documenting the alterations from week to week.  

As I move through the building, I try to remain mindful of who once occupied particular spaces and who will use these spaces in the future – and endeavor to be the eyes for both.

But photographs can’t convey everything, so it’s a good thing I also work with words.  There are the sounds and the general feeling of being present in the space—the growing feeling that this building is on its way to becoming an amazing place.

I’ve also gained an appreciation for the range of trades involved with this project, and the level of coordination necessary to allow the various subcontractors and specialists to go about their tasks without tripping over each other.  The movement of people and materials in and out of the building seems to require constant choreography.

What makes the Education Building project particularly unique is that it involves both renovation and addition components. The grand central staircase and other wooden fixtures remain in the building, enduring the dust and waiting to be restored.

Of late, I’ve seen the old lecture hall, with its high ceilings, converted into classroom space below and a new presentation room where people can actually look out from once-unreachable windows.

After what seems like years of looking at plans and drawings, it’s exciting to see the tiers in place for the new lecture hall, and preparations to pour concrete for the floor of the commons area moving right along.

So far, it’s been an amazing journey, and I’ve enjoyed taking everyone along. Stay with me, because the best is yet to come.

-- By Kerry G. Hill

My photos of the Education Building Project are posted (and updated regularly) on the School of Education’s Facebook page.

A pair of webcams provide live views of the Education Building construction from neighboring buildings:
View from Science Hall.
View from Helen C. White.

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