Throughout the years, there have been minor construction renovations in Lecture Hall. The start of this summer marks the debut of a major alteration to the building.

“There is a schedule that regularly updates the lecture halls and classrooms across campus. The Lecture Hall in particular has been receiving seating and floor upgrades as well as the installation of new projects,” said Karen Fennie, communications specialist for Physical Facilities at Binghamton University. “However, there has never been a major renovation, especially in the corridor area of the hall, and this summer renovation starts including this area. Minor work is going to be done this summer as compared to what is planned for summer 2010.”

The series of renovations will start with Lecture Halls 1, 9 and 12 after this semester. In Lecture Hall 1, there will be replacement of carpeting in the aisle. For Lecture Halls 9 and 12, there will be technology upgrades, painting and the installation of new teaching podiums.

According to Fennie, construction is being scheduled to maintain safety and comfort during this project. Major events such as orientation, Beginnings 2009, will be unaffected. As part of this scheduling, offices located in the Student Wing section of the building will be relocated to ensure continual running of the departments.

However, the major renovations will begin during the summer of 2010. The bulk of this work concentrates on the circular corridor of the building, Fennie said. In this area, the flooring will be replaced and new energy-efficient lighting will be installed.

Fennie also added that since a lot of the windows are deteriorating, they plan on undertaking critical maintenance by replacing the old windows with new ones.

According to Fennie, window replacement will not all be done at the same time. The north side of Lecture Hall will be done first and then the south. However, the entire project is not yet scheduled.

“This is what is planned for this and the next summer, but we are not sure how far it will go in terms of the end of the project,” Fennie said. “It will be finalized in the next month or so.”

The lack of recent renovation motivated this reconstruction project, Fennie added. The structure is old and some of the systems need to be changed for a more modern look. The University hopes the building will achieve a modern look since it is the center of activities on campus.

“The Lecture Hall was built in 1968 and it basically looks the same to me since I graduated from this college,” Fennie said. “We want to change its appearance because we want it to look really nice.”