Engineering adds new building

Green Hall facilities to open in 2012

| Senior News Editor

The trio of new engineering buildings will soon be completed. On April 30, Brauer Hall will be finished and the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Preston M. Green Hall will take place.

Green Hall will be completed in December 2011 and open in January 2012.

Green Hall will serve the needs of the School of Engineering, offering updated facilities.

“It will house state-of-the-art labs that we desperately need and upgraded facilities for our research,” Nicholas Benassi, associate dean of applied sciences in the School of Engineering, said.

The new laboratories will be conveniently located near the Metro station, which will allow students even easier access to the medical school’s campus. The facilities will also provide labs which will contrast with those in Bryan Hall, which was built in 1965.

“They’re fine, they’re not like top notch, but they’ll do what we need,” junior Alison Kremer said of the labs in older buildings. “And I guess we could use nicer labs.”

This is a point of excitement for others.

“I’m looking forward to the new labs, absolutely.” junior Harvey Multani said.

Many engineering students notice the age of the buildings many of their classes are in.

“Cupples II doesn’t have running water, it was built before there was running water, so yeah I would say [it’s outdated], not in terms of technology, but it’s a really old building,” junior Sarah Canniff said.

The new structure is also being built to promote a new mentality within the the Engineering school.

“The way the facilities are being  built, they’re really promoting interdisciplinary collaboration,” Benassi said.

Green Hall will house the entire department of electrical and systems engineering and offer expanded space for the department of energy, environmental and chemical engineering. It will also host the International Center for Advanced Renewable Energy and Sustainability (ICARES).

The construction of Green Hall will mark the third and final phase of the engineering school’s plan. The first two were Whitaker and Brauer Halls. All three of the buildings will be connected and are constructed in the collegiate gothic architecture that characterizes most of the Danforth campus.

Groundbreaking for the project is set to be on the same day as W.I.L.D., April 30.

With additional reporting by Lauren Olens.

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