Inside the Mandel Center for the Humanities, in progress

The building, which will bridge disciplines from across campus, will be open for the start of the fall 2010 semester

The Mandel Center for the Humanities is quickly becoming a reality on the Brandeis campus. University photographer Mike Lovett took these pictures as workers were busy preparing the center for its fall 2010 semester opening.

The building is located to the south of Olin-Sang, to which it connects. It will be possible to enter the 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 vision for the Mandel Center for the Humanities involves not only fostering connections between and among the humanities and humanistic social sciences, but also connecting those disciplines to other areas physically located to the south, on the campus below,” said Dan Feldman, vice president for capital projects.

“The physical location of the Mandel Center for the Humanities is perfectly attuned to this vision, with the building situated at the border of the Mandel Quad (the North Academic Quad) and the rest of the campus below. With two main entrances, one, on ground level, reaching out to the rest of the campus and one, on the level above, connecting directly to the Mandel Quad, the building facilitates, both physically and symbolically, the interdisciplinary connections that are at the heart of the vision for the center,” Feldman said.

Click here to read the Mandel Center for the Humanities vision statement by Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe and faculty members.

The center will feature a large, multipurpose 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 center will also house a 98-seat theater/lecture hall, a 48-seat, tiered classroom, and two new 24-seat seminar rooms, as well as offices and open-office workstations.

The ceremonial groundbreaking for the Mandel Center for the Humanities took place on Sept. 23, 2008. Click here to watch a video news story on the ceremony.

The center was made possible thanks to a $22.5 million gift from the Cleveland-based Mandel Foundation.