Scott Hall of Medical Sciences at Wayne State U.ACADEMIC SPACE DOESN'T EVOLVE naturally into lab space. With that in mind, leaders at Wayne State University Wayne State University, at Detroit, Mich.; state supported; coeducational; established 1956 as a successor to Wayne Univ. (formed 1934 by a merger of five city colleges). in Detroit have renovated the Gordon Scott Hall This article is about the professional wrestler. For the Leeds suburb, see Scott Hall, England. For Japanese comedian and wrestler Razor Ramon HG, see . Scott Oliver Hall of Basic Medical Sciences so that it meets the school's current needs. * FUNCTION: To be the main facility for the School of Medicine's teaching, research, and administrative offices. * CHALLENGES: This 35-year-old building's third floor was originally classroom space, yet over the years it had been loosely converted to a laboratory research area. Five years ago, a study concluded that significant renovations were required "to maintain and advance our position as a major research institution," explains Jim Sears Jimmy Sears (born March 20, 1931 in Los Angeles) is a former american football halfback. Pro Career Sears played for the National Football League Chicago Cardinals in 1954 and between 1957 and 1958, and for the American Football League's Los Angeles Chargers in 1960 and , associate vice president of Facilities Planning and Management. About 40,000 square feet on the floor was to be renovated to become a true research lab, with additional space for equipment, offices, and classrooms. The goal: "Create a space to meet the needs of science as it's currently being practiced," says Daniel Walz, associate dean of research at the School of Medicine. Electrical upgrades for the entire nine-story building were also called for. But all the work had to be done while the facility remained open and active. * SOLUTIONS: After some researchers were temporarily relocated, construction crews razed raze also rase tr.v. razed also rased, raz·ing also ras·ing, raz·es also ras·es 1. To level to the ground; demolish. See Synonyms at ruin. 2. To scrape or shave off. 3. most of the third floor, with noise and other distractions diminished with a chute leading directly to a dumpster at ground level. The project site was sealed off from the rest of the building, and laborers and material reached it via an external hoist hoist: see winch. . The construction schedule also took exam and lecture times into account, says Tom Grace, project architect. The end result is "a collegial col·le·gi·al adj. 1. a. Characterized by or having power and authority vested equally among colleagues: "He . . . , collaborative, and fertile environment for creative research," Grace adds. Large open lab zones help foster idea-sharing, allowing "teams to interact in ways that may create innovations not achievable through other lab configurations," he notes. Separate areas adjacent to the labs house noisy research support equipment like fume hoods A fume hood or fume cupboard is a large piece of scientific equipment common to chemistry laboratories designed to limit a person's exposure to hazardous fumes. Fume hoods were originally manufactured from timber, but now epoxy coated mild steel is the main construction , autoclaves, and freezers--resulting in "a quieter, more efficient place to work," Walz says. Perhaps the best aspect of the design: Although the square footage hasn't changed, now the school has about 20 percent more usable space in which to conduct its business. * COST: $21 million * COMPLETED: Summer 2006 * ARCHITECT: Lord, Aeck & Sargent, Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, city (1990 pop. 109,592), seat of Washtenaw co., S Mich., on the Huron River; inc. 1851. It is a research and educational center, with a large number of government and industrial research and development firms, many in high-technology fields such as , Mich. |
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