Renovation of the Rotunda will continue into the summer with many exterior and interior projects planned for the upcoming months.
Acting Rotunda Project Manager James Zehmer detailed the exterior projects for the Rotunda Renovation over the upcoming summer.
“We will be installing the north portico column capitals which right now tentatively is scheduled to start the week of June 8,” Zehmer said. “We’ll be doing some more utility work, part of which will install a fire hydrant and water line to that on the left side of the Rotunda.”
Zehmer said the construction team is in the midst of putting the concrete lid on the underground vault in the east courtyard and will fill in the east courtyard once the lid is installed.
They will also install scaffolding in the east courtyard in order to make repairs to the top of the Rotunda and will be working to replace the roofs of the two porticos, Zehmer said, along with a substantial amount of work going on inside of the Rotunda and the wings.
Senior Preservation Planner Brian Hogg said the capitals on the north portico will be replaced in June, along with the removal of the two cornices at the top of the building — which will be repainted and reinstalled after repairing the copper.
“The walking surfaces of the terraces will be replaced and the drainage for the terraces will be substantially improved,” Hogg said in an email. “The marble balustrades will be cleaned and repaired. Later on, work will begin on the new landscape designs for the two courtyards and the north plaza.”
Hogg also said the utility work on the north side of the Rotunda will continue, work will begin on a new elevator on the east side of the building, the north stairs will be rebuilt, masonry repairs will be done on the wings, and the windows in the wings will be restored.
For the interior, Hogg said they will build scaffolding to remove the metal panels which line the dome to allow the installation of an acoustical plaster ceiling.
“Work will be underway on a new stair that will connect the main floor of the Dome Room with the First Gallery, and which will allow the First Gallery to be used regularly when the building reopens,” Hogg said. “All through the building, work will proceed on new electrical, plumbing, data, fire safety, and heating and air conditioning systems.”
The new wooden capitals for the Dome Room, which are already being modeled, are designed from and based on research uncovered from this year’s restoration efforts, Zehmer said. Both Hogg and Zehmer said much was discovered during this year’s construction — such as the Chemistry Hearth in the Lower East Oval Room and physical and textual evidence of structural changes within the Rotunda — which has led the architects to do more research into the how the Rotunda may have originally functioned.
“We’re going to have some touch screen monitors in the Rotunda once the construction is complete that will help to tell the story of what we have discovered,” Zehmer said.
While the renovation is scheduled to continue regularly into the summer, Zehmer said the team is aware of certain projects which would need to take place during the summer while many students are away from Grounds.
“Certainly a project of this scale we need to keep pushing forward regardless,” Zehmer said. “There are some things, like the fire hydrant that’s going to close some sections of the sidewalk, that are going to be done during the summer when there’s less pedestrian traffic.”
Zehmer said the removal of the shoring on the south portico will require some equipment on the Lawn, making it better suited as a summer project.
“We’re definitely conscious of trying to get work done that would be more disruptive during the summer,” Zehmer said.
Although the restoration is currently on schedule, Hogg said certain discoveries have impeded specific projects.
“The work has largely proceeded as expected, although the discovery of hard rock north of the Chapel affected the progress of the stormwater improvement project to some degree,” Hogg said.
Zehmer said certain changes to make the Rotunda more accessible to the University community, such as the transformation of the south wings into two classrooms and a multifunctional space, have slightly pushed back the construction schedule.
“It shouldn’t impact us in terms of exterior appearances,” Zehmer said. “Our ultimate goal is to have the inside open for use in the fall of 2016.”
However, both Hogg and Zehmer said they expect the class of 2016 to be able to process around the Rotunda for Commencement.
“It’s going to be substantially complete around next spring,” Zehmer said. “Our goal is to have the Rotunda site such that the graduating class of 2016 will be able to walk around the terraces, but work will still continue into the summer [of 2016].”
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