Programming for the Mandel Humanities Center was completed in February 2008, and Schematic Design, the first phase of the overall design process, was completed in June 2008. Throughout, input has been provided by an advisory group of faculty, students, and staff. The architects, Kallmann, McKinnell & Wood (KMW), completed the next phase of design work, Design Development in early October 2008, and completed construction documents at the end of February.
The Mandel Humanities Center will constitute Phase 1 of the North Academic Quad Master Plan developed in 2007 with the assistance of KMW, building on the University’s 2001 Chan Krieger Campus Master Plan. The Mandel Humanities Center will be located to the south of Olin-Sang, to which it will connect. It will be possible to enter the new building directly from the lobby of Olin-Sang as well as through the Center’s main entrance, which will face the loop road to the south. The Mandel Humanities Center will provide greatly improved ADA access to the Quad.
The Mandel Humanities Center will feature a large, multi-purpose space for talks, gatherings, and other events, adjacent to an outdoor terrace. The uppermost level of the four-story building will include a reading room and a roof garden. The building will include a 100-seat theater/lecture hall, a 50-seat, tiered classroom, and two new 24-seat seminar rooms, as well as offices and open-office workstations.
The ceremonial groundreaking for the Mandel Humanities Center took place on September 23, 2008. Work on utilities to serve the Mandel Humanities Center began in February 2009, and excavation for footings and foundations for the Center began in mid-June 2009. All floor slabs have been poured, and the roof was poured at the end of October. The project is on schedule and the Center is expected to be complete in time for the start of the fall 2010 semester.
