Earthquake preparedness remains top priority
22 August 2002
By Sarah Yang, Media Relations
BERKELEY
- Many campus facilities once in dire need of seismic upgrades
stand strong this fall following major capital improvements.
Among them is the historic Hearst Memorial Mining Building,
which will reopen soon after three years of massive renovation.
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Seismic
retrofit work is nearing an end at the Hearst Memorial Mining
Building. (Bonnie Powell photo) |
The 95-year-old
Hearst structure now is supported by base isolators to allow
it to survive a magnitude 7.0 earthquake. It will house classrooms,
offices and world-class research laboratories for the College
of Engineering’s Department of Materials Science &
Engineering and for an emerging nanoscience initiative.
A rededication
ceremony for the grand building, designed in 1901 by John Galen
Howard, is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 22.
Seismic retrofits
of Latimer, Hildebrand and Barrows halls —buildings with
significant classroom and lab space — and of Wurster Hall’s
north wing will be done in time for classes next week. An upgrade
of Barker Hall will wrap up early this fall and a retrofit of
Wurster’s south wing will be finished by year’s
end.
Early next
year, work will begin to demolish Stanley Hall, a seismically
poor building that is home to researchers in the Department
of Molecular & Cell Biology. In the coming months, its occupants
will be temporarily moved elsewhere on campus. A new building
—the Stanley Quantitative Biosciences and Bioengineering
Facility — is scheduled to open in late 2005.
Memorial
Stadium also is undergoing seismic work, and sportswriters covering
the first football game this season won’t be sitting in
the 32-year-old press box, which was rated seismically very
poor. In its place is a temporary box with more than 100 seats
for reporters and booths for broadcasters.
Let
there be (more) light
The Campanile, closed for elevator and modernization work, is
expected to reopen in late November. In the meantime, the landmark
has been undergoing other improvements. A much brighter beacon
will be installed this month at the tower’s top, and brighter
lighting already was added to its base. These lights bring added
safety and drama to the bell tower, where carillon concerts
continue despite these projects.
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