Construction of a new building in the East Wheelock Cluster, scheduled to add another 80 beds by fall of 2000, will begin next Monday and add a fourth building to the College's youngest set of dormitories.
Initially designed to replace beds lost to building code upgrades of other residence halls, the new dorm, or "pod," was designed to include features that enhance the design used for the first three East Wheelock buildings.
The new residence hall will be part of the East Wheelock residential program which is designed to give students more access to faculty and foster a sense of community.
The new building will be built between Zimmerman and Morton residence halls and faculty apartments on East Wheelock and North Park streets, Director of Residential Operations Woody Eckels said.
Efforts have been made to design a building that is architecturally consistent with the current East Wheelock residence halls without repeating the same mistakes made when constructing those dorms in 1987, Eckels said.
Although actual construction of the building structure will not begin until summer, work on the site will be ongoing throughout the spring, including excavation, tree removal and relocation of the cluster's central cooling unit.
Construction is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday with tree felling restricted to after 9 a.m. and woodchipper use restricted to after 11 a.m. These restrictions are an attempt to allow construction to proceed in the least disruptive way, Eckels said.
Although construction noise is a possible problem for students living in Zimmerman and Morton, there are no plans to move residents out of the building or leave any rooms vacant because of the construction, Eckels said.
The new building will be connected via an enclosed walkway to Brace Commons, and the new social spaces in the pod will allow for expansion of recreational and community activities within the cluster.
Student residences in the new pod will be one room singles and two room doubles arranged in suites. Each suite will house four to nine students and have one or two private bathrooms and showers for each suite, as well as two common sinks.
Many features of the pod were designed with input from students, especially current East Wheelock residents. As a result, the new building will have thicker walls, more social space and rooms configured to encourage a sense of community, Eckels said.
"There is a feeling that students should live together, but they should have some privacy," Eckels said.
In addition, two large living rooms, a recreation room, a technologically-smart classroom, and study lounges on each floor have all been incorporated into the new building.
Eckels said while the new pod was not designed with the Trustees' initiative for improving social and residential life in mind, it could be one model of the improved residential space called for by the plan.
The new dorm is scheduled to be completed by August 1, 2000 and open for the 2000 Fall Term.
