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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 2, 1998)
Page 3 • Friday, October 2, 1998 1 e Battalion jw The Student Recreation Center, opened in 1995, was recently voted No. 1 in the nation by the National Intramural and Recreation Sports Association. S tudent Recreation Center earns envy s^i other universities, admiration of campus f detec® * A Imost 6,000 students go through its doors on a daily basis. In the three years since it opened, it has become one of the most frequented buildings on cam- pus and the envy of other universities. Tie Student Recreation Center is Texas A&M’s mot fitness. ipjovides a variety of physical activities in | furjique facility. Rock climbing, weight lift- ^^Tticl aerobic exercise are just a small sample 3 ini0r tness choices available for students seeking wept. ^Hluxury of having so many exercise choices f h / -•■^ ace was not always an option at A&M. pna Lc ■ ents usec j t0 exerc i se jj-, R eac j Build- 1 1 DeWare Field House. These places were ^H^^.'Bintained, but could not meet the needs of Ck r >i n g stuc l ent body. The facilities were small ! J ea ^ 0Llt across campus. > info' he Department of Recreational Sports asked ■ts what could be done to improve the sit- on| and student surveys were given out to Be the need for a new recreation complex. |nnis Corrington, director of Rec Sports, said Id facilities were not enough, oe time, we only had 50 percent of the space to meet the demand,” Corrington said. :er a student referendum was passed in 1993 [T- |zing a fee increase to help fund the project, nd construction followed, bon Mok was chosen to help design and the Student Recreation Center. ‘g Houston, the project manager for the Stu- creation Center, said the design process in- ■many different perspectives. We worked with users of the Department of reation Sports and A&M faculty to generate a jgn,” Houston said. " louston said the design staff came to A&M for -tothree-day work sessions. “We were brainstorming,” Houston said. “The sessions were graphic, as we did a lot of drawing.” The design team also visited recreation facilities at other schools such as Tulane University and the University of Texas. Houston said a unique design was at hand. "It was developed with input from the Recre ation Sports staff and helped define student wish es for activities,” Houston said. Construction took 22 months at a cost of $30 million. The complex, opened in Fall ’95, boasts 286,000 square feet of indoor space and 90,000 square feet of outdoor space. When it first opened, the building contained many features not found anywhere else. “It (the entrance) is like a visual menu for the stu dents. There is a lot going on, but it is very open/' — Greg Houston Recreation Center project manager The Rec Center’s exterior is one of the many fea tures that give the structure its flair. The building is surrounded by Olsen and Kyle Fields, and the roof of the Rec Center is sloped re sembling the slopes in the stands of the respective stadiums. The front of the building has many large win dows, allowing visitors to catch a glimpse of the natatorium and weight room. Corrington said the building’s exterior leaves an impression. “We wanted a dynamic, exciting building with lots of activities going on,” Corrington said. “The designers did well in displaying the busiest parts, like the weight room and the natatorium. ” When students enter the glass doors, they have a clear view of most of the activities available to them — the 3-D rock climbing wall, racquetball courts, indoor track. Time Out Deli, weight room and natatorium can all be seen from the lobby. Houston said the interior is what entices stu dents to use the center. “It is like a visual menu for the students,” Houston said. “There is a lot going on, but it is very open.” Corrington said many other recreation centers do not offer students such a view. “In most other places, you can’t get in the door without an ID,” Corrington said. “Here there is open space, so you can come in and look around.” The 3-D rock climbing wall is one the most no ticeable and original attractions in the Rec Center. The free-standing wall allows for 360-degree in verted climbing. Corrington said the wall was a new concept. “We had seen several rock-climbing walls in magazines,” Corrington said. “But ours is free standing.” The texture of the wall is also specialized. It was chosen to mimic the feel and look of Enchanted Rock in Austin. The weight room also uses some creative archi tectural design — indirect lighting and a graded ceiling. Houston said this allows for a more pleasant vi sual effect for users. “It doesn’t look like a large expanse,” he said. “The lighting and ceiling break the room up. “It has been done before, but I think it is the first time it has been applied to a weight room. ” see Rec on Page 4. Nagle Hall holds honor of oldest building on campus BY BETH FOCHT The Battalion W hile walking towards Evans Library, stu dents can find the old est building on campus tucked between Hart Hall and the Aca demic Building . Nagle Hall, originally the Civil Engineering Building, was completed in 1909. On the building dedication plaque, there are names such as Legett, Fermier, Milner, Puryear and Frances — famous men who helped Texas A&M grow and whose names grace other buildings on campus. Nagle Hall originally housed the civil engineering, architec tural engineering, drawing and physics departments. It originally contained nine lecture rooms, five miscella neous rooms, and several offices and storerooms. The build ing, com posed of a basement and three sto ries, is 125 feet wide and 72 feet deep. The original cost to build Nagle was $65,000, and it was designed by F.E. Giesecke, the College’s ar chitect at the time, and built by J.S. Harrison. Nagle Hall was the first rein forced concrete structure on campus, and the first building to be “fire-proofed.” In his book Here We’ll Build a College, Ernest Langford said Nagle Hall was different from the handful of buildings that existed on campus in 1909. “Nagle Hall was the first building that had extensive use of cast stone for belt cours es, columns, cornices, balus ters and balustrades,” Lang ford said. “With this combination of brick and cast stone used for the building materials, it failed to give this structure the ‘sparkle’ of earlier campus buildings.” Throughout its existence, Nagle Hall has seen its share of changes, repairs and different building occupants. The first major change Nagle Hall encountered was in 1929, when its name changed from the Civil Engineering Building to Nagle Hall. The building was named Nagle Hall in memory of James C. Nagle the same year of his death. Nagle joined the Texas A&M faculty as an assistant professor of engineering and physics in 1890 and became the first dean of the College of Engineering when it was formed in 1911. In 1957, air conditioning was added to the facilities, and more air-conditioning repairs and ad ditions occurred in 1962. The major interior renova tion of the building occurred in 1973 when a handicap ramp was built and the west en trance was added. The last major build ing renova tion hap pened in 1977 when the exterior was restored and water proofed. It is the same standing struc ture as when it was built, and not much has changed to the outside appearance. After the engineering de partments moved out of the building, Nagle housed a vari ety of departments including economics, geography, history, government and journalism. Chris Lang, academic busi ness administrator for the wildlife and fisheries sciences department, said after the last major renovation occurred in 1974, the department moved into Nagle Hall. “Nagle Hall is the main building for this department,” Lang said. “We have over 50 faculty and staff members and any where from 200 to 600 stu dents going through the build ing everyday. see Nagle on Page 4. architecture W •wit On sale this week at the ir r 1234 or on the net! lxof1ice.tamu.edu Chi H arrange for special needs v accepted. MSC Rudder Box Office -%> official tamu Personalized Graduation Announcements on sale through Friday. Oct. 9 *8* MSC Film Society — Braveheart Fri, Oct. 2,7 p.m. ♦ 'Magination Station — The Unsinkable Molly Brown Fri. - Sun., Oct. 2-4, and Oct. 9-10, 7 p.m. •8» MSC OPAS Jr. —- Ramona Quimby Sun, Oct. ll, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. • bvso— Letters from the Old World Sun, Oct. 11,4 p.m. MSC opas — St, Petersburg Symphony Thurs.. Oct 15.8 p.m. E l | "V V>£Yt " ***'*? ■- wp"' ■ '• V«r^' ' ' '' - ' «!!***!&'**&*&**';*¥ t %*wk4*M*W** *?*.***:*!?*. MEET THE CANDIDATE OCTOBER 4 th 4:00 p.m. aior jane nelson will be officiating YOU MAY BRING A PICNIC LUNCH- SNOW CONES ^ND SODAS dLL BE FOR SALE STATE AND LOCAL CANDIDATES FREE TO THE PUBLIC EVERYONE IS INVITED TO BE HELD AT SOUTHWOOD ATHLETIC PARK ON ROCK PRAIRIE ROAD IN COLLEGE STATION there will be a silent auction for YOUR ENJOYMENT HOSTED BY REPUBLICAN WOMEN OF THE BRAZOS VALLEY MSC Box Office Lobby of Rudder Tower Please note our new hours: Monday - Friday 11 am - 8pm Saturday 10am - 2pm Closed over TAMU holidays WHO’S WHO AMONG STUDENTS IN AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES 1998 - 99 TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY Who’s Who applications are now available for both undergraduate and graduate students in the following locations: Commandant’s Office (Military Sciences Building) Student Programs Office (2nd floor MSC) Student Activities Office (125 John J. Koldus Building) Sterling C. Evans Library Office of Graduate Studies (125 Teague) Office of the Dean of each College Office of Graduate Studies (128 Teague) Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs (IOth floor Rudder) Completed applications must be received by the Student Activities Office no later than 5:00 pm on Friday, October, 2 1998. They may be hand-carried to the Student Activities Office, sent through Campus Mail, or sent through U.S. Mail. (See application for addresses.) Questions may be addressed to Sandy Briers in Student Activities at 845-1133. When: Sat., Oct. 3 9am-1pm Where: Blocker 102 Cost: $5 for members $8 for non-members Sponsored by: The Princeton Review & TAMU Psychology Club Participants will receive a computer analyzed score report and free personal follow-up explaining their score. To register or for more info r call The Princeton Review at 696-9099 or the Psych Club at 691-6328. Call or visit us at 409.696.9099 www.review.com THE PRINCETON REVIEW The Princeton Reivew is not affiliated with Princeton University or AAMC.