Wednesday, May 13, 1987/The Battalion/Page 3
State and Local
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Coordinator says classes are ready for use
Workers complete new chemistry building
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By Lee Schexnaider
Staff Writer
I After losing its major contrac
tor and being pushed a year be
hind schedule, the new chemistry
building is finally completed and
rlady for full occupation, said Dr.
■icheal Rosynek, user-coordina-
tlr of the project for the chemis-
Hy department.
■ Construction began in 1984
apd was scheduled for comple
tion last May, but B.B. Anderson
Construction Co. of Topeka,
Ban., pulled out of the project
with more than $6 million of
work unfinished on the $15.5
million facility, according to a
Feb. 28, 1986 Batfa/io/i article.
■ George Cole, a project man-
ater for the Texas A&M facilities
planning and construction de-
Bntment, said construction was
ft percent complete when B.B.
Anderson abandoned the project
Because of the company’s bank
ruptcy proceedings.
■ After B.B. Anderson pulled
out, United States Fidelity and
■uaranty Co., the insurer of the
project, hired Avery Mays Co. of
Ipallas to finish the project using
B B. Anderson’s original budget
apd subcontractors, Cole said.
I Rosynek said that even though
trie project was delayed, the
‘chemistry department will gain
ftcognition for the new structure.
■ “Some of the undergraduate
mbs, particulary those for the
cjiemistry majors, are the best in
vine country,” Rosynek said.
■They have some facilities that
a e almost unique for laboratory
facilities.”
I Whenever a department gets a
substantial new addition to its
buildings, he said, that depart
ment's programs and reputation
are enhanced.
I “Naturally, the faculty is in
volved in teaching the courses,
but it can do a better job if it has
better facilities,” he said. “I think
it will enhance our instructional
reputation, but it takes a while for
such things to get around. I think
it will become clear we have one
of the best instructional labortory
facilities in the country.”
Rosynek said the 116,000
squareToot building wall contain a
variety of rooms besides under
graduate labs. The basement will
contain machine, glass-blowing
and cabinet shops. It also will
have chemical storerooms and
service facilities.
“There are a series of class
rooms and administrative offices
on the first floor,” he said. “The
top four floors are mostly labo
ratories, with a few offices here
and there. Of the top four floors,
roughly 40 percent to 50 percent
are for research and 50 percent
to 60 percent are mostly under
graduate instructional teaching
labortories. It represents a signifi
cant expansion for our current
undergraduate instructional la-
broatories, which are old and -
very cramped.
“This does not apply to the
freshman program which is in
Heldenfels. It is a relatively mod
ern building, built in 1978. Those
laboratories are not moving.”
Moving classrooms to the new
chemistry building will make
space in the present Chemistry
Building available for renovation,
Rosynek said. There will be three
phases to the project.
“Each of the three phases will
involve something like 20,()()() to
25,000 square feet of space which
must be vacated,” he said. “Be
cause of the new building being
available, the amount of available
space will not be intolerable. We
will be able to accomodate that.
We won’t actually realize our final
space allotment until the third
phase of the renovation is fin
ished.''
Rosynek said that for the next
few years there always will be
20,000 to 25,000 square feet un
der renovation.
“If the new building had not
occurred, we could never do
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The Chemistry Building
these renovations,” he said. “We
couldn’t possibly evacuate that
much space at one time. The new
building allows that.”
Another major asset of the new
building is that the budget for its
construction included new un
dergraduate laboratory equip
ment. Rosynek said.
“This will impact the students a
lot,” he said. “They will have the
opportunity to work with more
modern and extensive equipment
than they have in the past. This is
a very exciting prospect for us
and, we hope, for the students as
well. It’s a substantial corriple-
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We will be buying books
back during Finals Week in
the Redmond Terrace park
ing lot on Texas Ave.
Plenty of Free Parking Behind the Store
“We care about Aggies-
ust as we have for 30
years. Thank you for
your business”
Old Army Lou ’32
Northgate
335
University
ment of equipment. We couldn’t
possibly have purchased it with
out the new building budget that
allows that.”
The new equipment items in
clude fume hoods for organic
chemistry students, he said.
“These fume hoods are ar-
anged back-to-back in tow banks
in each room,” he said. “There
are 16 of them in a room. They
all have glass sides, so it’s possible
for an instructor to stand at one
end and look down and see each
student working in the fume
hoods. What this means is two
things: first of all, the students
'hoto by Jay Janner
are able to work in very safe quar
ters with out vapors and fumes
escaping into the room. This can
occur if you are not working in a
real fume hood.
“Secondly, it allows the instruc
tor to be able to observe students
easier. If they were in conventio
nal fume hoods with metal sides,
you would have to walk around
and actually be right behind the
student to see what he’s doing.”
Rosynek said the new labo
ratory facilities will enhance the
chemistry program at Texas
A&M.
“I think it’s an absolutely first-
rate instructional facility.”
Crew begins
making room
for garage
By Clark Miller
Staff Writer
A construction crew has begun
the destruction of the Texas A&M
Physical Plant to make way for the
new six-story parking garage ex
pected to be completed in Septem
ber 1988, said Wesley Peel, vice
chancellor for f acilities planning and
construction at A&M.
“It’s slow right now, but it is
scheduled to be totally demolished
within five weeks,” Peel said.
As soon as the Physical Plant
comes down, Peel said, construction
will begin on the high-rise, 2,010-car
garage, which is now budgeted for
about $4.5 million less than when it
was proposed last November.
Original cost estimation was $12.6
million in 1986, but Fulshear Corp.,
a Houston-based general contract
ing firm, got the construction bid for
$8.1 1 million.
Peel said the unexpectedly low bid
was due to the shortage of construc
tion work in Texas.
“We’re in an extremely favorable
bidding climate,” he said.
Mike Smith, assistant vice chan
cellor for facilities planning and con
struction at A&M, said the garage
will be totally paid for with parking
revenues, which include parking
tickets and future garage-user fees.
The Coordinating Board for
Texas Colleges and Universities ap
proved the plans for the parking ga
rage last month. The initial proposal
was in October 1986, but the board
held off approving A&M’s garage
plans because of a recent backlog of
construction projects at Texas uni
versities.
Elmer Schieder, University Police
chief, says the garage is needed be
cause some parking lots have been
lost through construction projects
Predicted growth in A&M enroll
ment also will create a need for new
parking, he said.
Jim Ferguson, A&M associate vice
president for operations, said the ga
rage will have day parking charged
by the hour as well as year-long stick
ers for faculty, staff and students.
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