Architects will compete to design new academic complex

BBy: Johnathan Skidmore
Copy Layout Editor

It is no surprise to the students of Monmouth College that the campus could use another academic building. The good news is that there is a new complex in the planning process. “This is the beginning of a long path,” said Mauri Ditzler, president of Monmouth College, regarding starting the process of this new proposal.

The new proposal for the academic complex has been submitted to “three nationally known architects who have a great deal of experience with constructing academic buildings and laboratories,” said Ditzler.

These three architects will each give a presentation, in early December, to the science and business department faculty as well as the building and grounds committee composed of members of the board of trustees. The attendants will then decide which complex will be best for the faculty and students. Ditzler stated that this is not intended to be a secret meeting, but the presentation is limited to only these groups in order to keep the group small. The Courier was then offered an invitation to cover this presentation, extending the information to you, the students.

According to the design criteria sent away to the three architectural firms, “the academic complex will be a single building or a series of interconnected buildings.” After the architect best suited for the college’s needs has been chosen from the three, “the architect and consultants will speak with faculty and build the academic complex to suit their needs for about six months prior to breaking ground. They are going to adjust the building to suit the faculties’ needs,” said Ditzler. “These are the country’s best architects.”

The new academic complex is slated to be placed on the southwest corner of Monmouth College campus where the visitor’s lot and Marshall Hall are currently located between the Office of Admission and the Dahl Chapel and Auditorium. This location has been chosen for a while, but it may change if the logistics of construction don’t allow for it. “Campuses work from a master plan. When we built Bowers, we knew that North was going to be built; when we built North, we knew that we were going to build the other new residence hall. We have to keep asking ourselves, where does this fit in the grand scope?” said Ditzler.

When the project is completed, “there is going to be an enclosed green area between the Huff, Bowers and the new academic complex,” said Ditzler. This new academic complex will displace Marshall Hall, but since Marshall Hall is of such “historical significance,” Marshall Hall will be in all likelihood salvaged. “Marshall may be moved, but should be considered a separate project.” Were Marshall Hall moved, it would probably be renovated including a basement perhaps for Greek organization chapter meetings, making it better for all students.

In the design criteria sent to the architectural firms, the plan calls for a “green” design, meaning that it will be built with environmentally friendly materials and be energy efficient. Laboratory buildings are expensive to maintain because they must have constant ventilation. One way to have the two departments together can be that they share heating. “Instead of just heating air just to shoot out the top of the building, we can heat air and bring it up through business classrooms and science classrooms up to the laboratories on top,” said Ditzler. In this way, we can conserve money.

By constructing the two buildings together, the college will also save money on building, by “finding as many ways to share spaces” as possible, said Ditzler. The science department may need an auditorium for lectures and presentations, while the business department may need an auditorium for similar purposes. These two departments will probably not need them both at the same time so the college can save money, space and energy by having the departments utilize the same auditorium.

“This project will cost approximately 30 to 40 million dollars. In order to gain a bit of perspective, the renovations on Huff cost only 20 million,” said Ditzler. The project will be funded by individual donors and not a grant.

The organization involved with attempting to find donations is the advancement division of the college. “The advancement division of the college is a very important group on campus. About a year and a half ago, it decided to make a business and science building... in order to integrate knowledge and breakdown the barriers,” said Ditzler. “We noticed, and we didn’t notice until we started looking for donations, that many of our successful science graduates started businesses. Monmouth College has a long historical link of science and business.” The attempt here is to “reproduce for the next generation what happened in the past,” by creating an environment where these two disciplines can intermingle.

Ditzler seems very optimistic with this project, stating, “If everything works perfectly, this project is four to five years away, assuming that we can raise money instantly.” Ditzler continues by saying, “This academic complex will improve the college reputation which will in turn increase the value of your degree. With a better degree, you can get a better job…this is beneficial to all graduates.”