Making Progress on the New Science Center

It’s back to school time and the Class of 2021 has just arrived at campuses everywhere. In the spirit of looking forward, Amherst College just shared a wonderful video about the new Science Center that will welcome the Class of 2022 next Fall.

There’s been a lot of progress on the Amherst College New Science Center over the last 15 months, but we still have some hard work ahead of us before the building opens in 2018. Most of the exterior is near completion, such as the masonry along the east, the curtain wall along the west or the light monitors on the roof. Other exterior work includes grading and planting of the new orchard and the recent opening of the realigned East Drive.

However, the most dramatic progress has been made inside the building. There are over 250 people working on site every day: carpenters, electricians, pipe fitters, sheet-metal workers, plumbers and many, many others. Our team of 7 full-time architects is busy reviewing submittals, shop drawings, field conditions, mock-ups, questions and the general progress of the work. We also have a second team of architects, designers and consultants who are hard at work completing the final design of the furniture, color and fabric selections, signage and other graphic systems. We all look forward to some important milestones over the coming weeks like installation of curtainwall glazing, completion of masonry and roofing work, and the final interior mock-ups of the Center’s Commons.

Seeing the massive efforts that envelop and change the site every day and imagining the future campus life that will follow, a quotation from the 19th century architect and urban planner Daniel Burnham comes to mind:

Related:
Amherst College – Science Center Update
New Science Center