Purdue News

Fall 1988 Eight Major Projects To Be Finished In 2 Years The smokestack has to come down, but a new bell tower will be going up -- and that's just the beginning. Purdue will look a lot different in the early l990s than it does today, as a series of building and beautification projects on four campuses reach completion. Eight major projects are scheduled to be finished between now and the end of 1989; three more are on the boards for 1990 completions; and three are planned for 1991. Most of the changes are motivated by practical needs, but in some cases aesthetics -- enhanced by an increasingly ambitious corps of donors -- is the driving force. A newly landscaped Purdue Mall, a dramatic water sculpture and a soaring bell tower are among the more visible changes planned for the center of the West Lafayette campus. Those three projects -- all to be paid for out of gift and University capital funds -- will be the icing on a very substantial cake, which will be prepared according to the recipe spelled out three years ago in the University's Master Plan. "The amount of work going on right now is not all that unusual," says Kenneth P. Burns, vice president for physical facilities. "The University is constantly adding new structures and occasionally replacing old ones, but right now we're getting ready to make some changes in West Lafayette that will be highly visible." President Steven C. Beering believes the Master Plan will be a stabilizing influence in a transformation that will both beautify the main campus and make it more congenial. "We don't want to change the basic appearance or the personality of Purdue," he says. "The environment should continue to express our unique traditions and memories. However, the University is growing and changing, and we can always improve. An emphasis on pedestrian access and park-like areas will make this a very lovely place to study, work and visit."   Here are summaries of some of the projects planned for completion over the next three years: -- Student Services Building -- This is actually a renovation of and an addition to the old Geosciences Building. With 22,360 assignable square feet of new space and 10,360 square feet of remodeled space, the facility will house most Student Services operations, including the Dean of Students, Financial Aid and Admissions. The $6.4 million project is scheduled for completion in December, 1989. -- Freehafer Hall Addition - About 21,000 square feet will be added to the south end of the building to accommodate expansion of Business and Physical Plant offices. Cost: $4 million. Completion is planned for March, 1989. -- Fort Wayne Fine Arts Building and Theater - A $4.8 million fine-arts building will provide 25,280 square feet of new space and allow the IPFW Fine Arts Department to move from obsolete downtown facilities to the campus. As a result of a major gift from the Folinger Foundation in Fort Wayne, a new 300-seat theater, costing $4 million will be build. Scheduled completion: December, 1990. -- Calumet Campus Computer Education Building - The $4.5 million building will provide 18,500 square feet of office and classroom space for expansion of Calumet's computer teaching programs. Scheduled completion: August, 1989. -- Football Practice Facility - Coach Fred Akers' efforts to upgrade the Boilermakers' football fortunes should get a boost from this permanent enclosed practice field which also will contain weight-training facilities adn will be available for other activities, such as band practices. The $6 million project will be paid for through gifts and athletic revenues. A fundraising drive by the John Purdue Club is under way. Scheduled competion: winter, 1989-90. -- Animal Pavilion -School of Agriculture students will be able to study large animals in a classroom setting in this 1,900 square-foot open pavilion. It will be built on a site south of the Poultry Annex at a cost of $250,000. Scheduled completion: June, 1989. -- Lecture Hall - The Class of 1950 is engaged in a historic fund drive to raise $1 million of the $3.5 million cost of this state-of-the-art, 500-seat lecture hall. The building, to replace Peirce Hall (which is impractical to renovate), also will include instructor preparation areas, a large lobby, a 100-seat classroom and several smaller classrooms. The Class of '50 effort is the most ambitious class-gift project undertaken to date at Purdue. Scheduled completion: mid-1990. -- Purdue Mall Development and Landscaping -- President Beering has called this area "a campus centerpiece." Shaded walkways, plazas, outdoor study areas and a park-like ambience will dominate the quadrangle in front of Hovde Hall. Once a parking area and thorofare, the area has been closed to auto traffic. The $1.5 million project is scheduled for completion in the summer of 1989. -- Loeb Fountain Replacement - Indiana artist Robert Youngman has been contracted to develop a water sculpture to replace the fountain in front of Hovde Hall. The bold concept features intricate water movements over an arrangement of four 30-foot-high structures. Purdue Theater Department experts are developing a night-lighting system, and the water-flow concept will be tested under wind-tunnel conditions in the School of Civil Engineering. Gift funds are being raised to fund the $350,000 cost of the project. The existing Loeb Fountain will be moved to a new location. Scheduled completion: Summer, 1989. -- Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory -- This is actually a building to allow Purdue to carry out a service it provides for the state's animal industries. The 30,000-square-foot structure, replacing obsolete facilities, will be built at a cost of $9 million. Scheduled completion: June, 1991. -- Bell Tower - The class of 1948 plans to raise $800,000 for this lighted carillon bell tower, which will become the highest structure on campus after the North Power Plant's brick smokestack is razed. The stack, long the West Lafayette campus' most visible landmark, will deteriorate rapidly once the plant goes out of service in the early l990s. The new tower, to be located in Sinninger Park immediately west of the power plant, will be reminiscent of-- but will not replicate -- the old Heavilon Hall clock tower. The Heavilon bells will be installed in the tower, but the chimes will be rung electronically. The design will feature a brick exterior and a walk-through arch. Scheduled completion: Within three years. -- Meditation/Retreat Center - This is another major classgift project. The Class of 1939 plans to raise $900,000 to build a 120-seat meditation center and a small support facility in Horticulture Park. The non-denominational facility could be scheduled by university offices, religious organizations or individuals for both religious and secular purposes. Scheduled completion: Summer, 1990. -- Parking Garage No. 7 - A 745-car garage will be built on University Street, immediately south of the existing garage. Parking fees will pay off the $5 million construction cost over a 20-year period. The garage is part of Purdue's ongoing program to remove vehicle traffic from the center of campus. Scheduled completion: August, 1989. -- IUPUI Science/Engineering and Technology Building - This three-story structure, to be built in two phases, would unify the Purdue mission schools on IUPUI's West Michigan Street campus. State funding still is pending on part of the $38 million cost of the project. Scheduled completion: Fall, 1991. Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page