The Athenaeum

Construction is coming along nicely.

Whiting-Turner engineers review project plans while workers form concrete footer molds of steel rebar.

Athenaeum construction is proceeding on schedule. Here are the latest updates from Goucher’s project manager, Linda Barone:

• Excavation is about 90% complete.
• The drilling and pouring of the caissons is proceeding.
• The paver installation began on Monday the 13th with final completion scheduled
  for the first week of September.
• The Van Meter Highway portion should be open by the beginning of classes, August 29th.
• Utility relocation that was to be done this summer is complete.

As the construction crews working on the Athenaeum enter their next phase of operations, the part of the Loop Road that runs past the Alumnae/i House and into the parking circle in front of the Pearlstone Student Center will be closing permanently.

As of Monday, June 18, no traffic will be allowed past the loading dock of the Dorsey Center. The rest of the Loop Road (to the right of the fork at the foot of the Athenaeum site) will remain open throughout the project.

Site preparation for the project has begun in earnest. Whiting-Turner’s administrative trailer arrived several days ago and was positioned adjacent to the “T”. Yesterday and today crews prepared to install fencing around the perimiter of the construction site as well as removing the flagpoles from Mary Fisher Circle.

Town Hall Meeting with Whiting-Turner

Representatives from the Whiting-Turner construction management company met with the Goucher community in a town hall meeting today to discuss the plans for getting the Athenaeum project underway and the impact it will have on day-to-day life on campus. Click here to view the slides that Whiting-turner presented.

Groundbreaking

On Friday, April 27, Goucher College will break ground on the Athenaeum, a signature building that the college envisions will become a vital point of connection between the academic, cultural, and social pursuits for community members — both on and off campus

The groundbreaking festivities begin at 10:30 a.m. on Goucher’s campus at the future site of the Athenaeum, between the Alumnae/i House and the new residence hall. To view the campus map, please click here.

The keynote speech at the groundbreaking will be delivered by Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, who helped Goucher secure $900,000 in federal funds to build and operate the Athenaeum. These funds were designated for construction and for helping Goucher meet programming costs associated with a new community service center that will be an important element of the Athenaeum project.

Other elected officials, executives associated with higher education in Maryland, and generous donors and supporters from the Goucher community also will be present.

An integral part of the Strategic Plan that Goucher College adopted in 2002, the Athenaeum will be the flagship of the campus, weaving together the various threads of life at Goucher in one signature building — a physical centerpiece for the campus that also will be the figurative heart of the academic community.

The 100,000-square-foot building will be open 24/7 and will feature a new, technologically superior library; a spacious open forum for performances, public discussions, and other events; a café, art gallery; a center for community service and multicultural affairs programming; and spaces for exercise, conversation, and quiet reflection and relaxation.

Goucher College, in collaboration with Hillier Architecture, has approached every aspect of the Athenaeum project with an eye toward sustainable design strategies, and the project will be certified according to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green-Building Rating System. The Athenaeum will employ energy-saving features such as the use of recycled building materials, the inclusion high-efficiency mechanical systems, the restoration of native habitats, and the addition of two green roofs, which will reduce heat gain and alleviate stormwater runoff.

Construction on the Athenaeum will begin this May, with an anticipated delivery date of fall 2009.