It may be inside old walls, but the College of Education Building will be one of the university”s most up-to-date buildings when it opens next year.
Brian Johnson, assistant vice president for facilities, said the renovation is being done in two stages.
Beginning September 2014, the first phase included demolition and asbestos abatement and was completed in May 2015. During this phase, all asbestos-contaminated material had to be carefully identified, removed and disposed of, said Corinne Mantle-Bromley, dean of the College of Education.
The building was stripped down until just its brick walls and steel framework remained. The building”s aging utilities had to be upgraded. The water lines, sewer lines, gas line and electrical wiring all had to be replaced, Johnson said.
The second phase is ongoing and includes the reconstruction of the building, which is expected to be completed around June 2016, Johnson said.
The College of Education will move back into the building by the time the fall semester begins in August 2016. Factoring in all these costs, Johnson said the total cost of the renovation is just over $17 million.
“It”s not only the bringing in the new, but it”s the disposing of the previous materials as well,” Johnson said.
Mantle-Bromly said the building was greatly in need of an overhaul. She said the building was built in 1968 when asbestos fireproofing was at its peak. She said the building had asbestos in the walls, floors and ceilings, sprayed on pipes and used as insulation.
The dangers of asbestos were discovered shortly afterward in the early 1970s, and the dangerous material was so prevalent in the building that even the most minor of repairs and updates were prohibitively expensive and needed to be performed by workers wearing hazmat suits.
The building was scarcely updated or maintained for decades, Mantle-Bromly said, and by 2014 many problems had arisen. She said it had only two electrical outlets per room new projectors couldn”t be installed, the roof couldn”t be replaced, the floors were cracked, the exterior walls were falling apart and plants grew through the windows into the building.
The rehabilitated College of Education building will have numerous improvements and upgrades.
Mantle-Bromley said the biggest change will be the additional windows and new glass walls that will allow more natural light into the building.
The renovation will make the College of Education Building one of the most technologically advanced building on campus, Mantle-Bromley said. Technology infrastructure will be updated so the classrooms will have the latest technology, such as video screens and touch-screen computers. The new technology will be integrated into the classrooms so that students can display and share their research, she said.
The new building will also feature study spaces, both open and enclosed, as well as “technology bars,” where students can sit and use their computer or charge their phone, Mantle-Bromley said. The new building will also feature a more traditional research library for studying Idaho state curriculum materials, she said.
“We”re really trying to make a student-friendly building where students want to spend time,” Mantle-Bromley said.
According to Mantle-Bromley, the funding was provided by a variety of sources, including state funding, the sale of bonds by the university and many significant private donations from alumni and university supporters.
Ryan Locke can be reached at [email protected]