Bailey Shutt, an employee of the University of Georgia Physical Plant, explains the process to repair the foundation of the Fine Arts Building on Wednesday, May 20, 2009.
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By Leila Mattimore
“To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,” said Macbeth. It always seemed like the Fine Arts Theatre would have to wait until “to-morrow,” but now the day has come, and the Fine Arts Theatre is finally getting the restoration students have been hoping for.
The University of Georgia campus may deceptively appear sleepy in the summer, but in many buildings, construction workers have replaced students. Rooms and doorways are blocked off, and sections of sidewalk are enclosed with chain-link fences.
Among the many buildings undergoing construction around campus, repairs are being made to the foundation of the Fine Arts Building on Baldwin Street, and the theatre within is undergoing the first phase of its restoration.
According to the status report on the Fine Arts Theatre renovation by the Office of University Architects for Facilities Planning, the purpose of the project is to “upgrade accessibility for [the] entire building, as well as mechanical upgrades to theater and academic wings.”
The report also states, “The project will be phased over many years,” but this “first phase of renovation, to include [the] theater mechanical system relocation and lobby renovation” which began Jan. 21, 2009 is not scheduled to be completed until Sept. 1, 2009.
The building in its present state looks as though they are digging it up.
“There is a leak in the foundation,” Rudy Vickery, an employee of the University Physical Plant, who is working on the project, said, “and it looks like this could have been going on for 20 years.”
“But the more eminent problem is mold,” Bailey Shutt, another employee of the University Physical Plant added. “With the mold problem the theatre department can’t even store their costumes.”
Vickery and others are now working on digging down to the “foot” of the building, which is much deeper than the actual floor of the building, and then they must waterproof the foundation by applying a product called Bituthene®.
Jillian Baldwin, a sophomore theatre and film studies major says that it seemed as though the department would never get the funding to fix the situation. “No one has the money to really do much anymore, so we are really excited that the building is finally getting the attention it needs.”
The total budget stated for the project is $4, 206, 294. The University Project Manager is Scott Messer; the contractor is Peter Brown Construction, and.Lord, Aeck, & Sargent are doing the architecture and consulting for the renovation.
Edited by Alex Mckelvey/ Leila Mattimore
“To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,” said Macbeth. It always seemed like the Fine Arts Theatre would have to wait until “to-morrow,” but now the day has come, and the Fine Arts Theatre is finally getting the restoration students have been hoping for.
The University of Georgia campus may deceptively appear sleepy in the summer, but in many buildings, construction workers have replaced students. Rooms and doorways are blocked off, and sections of sidewalk are enclosed with chain-link fences.
Among the many buildings undergoing construction around campus, repairs are being made to the foundation of the Fine Arts Building on Baldwin Street, and the theatre within is undergoing the first phase of its restoration.
According to the status report on the Fine Arts Theatre renovation by the Office of University Architects for Facilities Planning, the purpose of the project is to “upgrade accessibility for [the] entire building, as well as mechanical upgrades to theater and academic wings.”
The report also states, “The project will be phased over many years,” but this “first phase of renovation, to include [the] theater mechanical system relocation and lobby renovation” which began Jan. 21, 2009 is not scheduled to be completed until Sept. 1, 2009.
The building in its present state looks as though they are digging it up.
“There is a leak in the foundation,” Rudy Vickery, an employee of the University Physical Plant, who is working on the project, said, “and it looks like this could have been going on for 20 years.”
“But the more eminent problem is mold,” Bailey Shutt, another employee of the University Physical Plant added. “With the mold problem the theatre department can’t even store their costumes.”
Vickery and others are now working on digging down to the “foot” of the building, which is much deeper than the actual floor of the building, and then they must waterproof the foundation by applying a product called Bituthene®.
Jillian Baldwin, a sophomore theatre and film studies major says that it seemed as though the department would never get the funding to fix the situation. “No one has the money to really do much anymore, so we are really excited that the building is finally getting the attention it needs.”
The total budget stated for the project is $4, 206, 294. The University Project Manager is Scott Messer; the contractor is Peter Brown Construction, and.Lord, Aeck, & Sargent are doing the architecture and consulting for the renovation.
Edited by Alex Mckelvey/ Leila Mattimore
