HARRIS HALL

Harris Hall receives preservation award

2011-05-20T11:29:00.001-07:00

Dan Weese (Weese Langley Weese), Don McDougal (Turner Construction Company) and I attended the May 16, 2011 session of the City Council at which the City of Evanston Preservation Commission presented Northwestern University with its highest building preservation honor, the Margery B. Perkins Award for Historic Preservation. Sweet.

December 2010

2010-12-23T10:39:00.001-08:00

Harris Hall awaits the return of students and the start of classes on January 3, 2011. My step daughter, Julia Smith (2011), a history-econ major, will be among those enjoying the newly renovated building, so it was particularly sweet to have been assigned to this project. There are still several hundred loose ends to trim and finalize, but over all, the project is complete and the building occupied. The project, being a mix of new construction, historic restoration, rehab, and designed for LEED certification, was demanding, interesting, compelling and downright thrilling. I thoroughly enjoyed working with the faculty and administrative staff in both the Department of History and the Nicholas J. Chabraja Center for History Studies. It was a particular pleasure working with Weese Langley Weese, and especially Dan Weese, whose passionate and relentless attention to the project permeates the building. I wholly appreciate the commitment and efforts of Turner’s construction team (Mike Long, Don McDougal, Ron McAllister and Anthony Douglas) and the many trade contractors that worked on the project. Of course, the project success was underpinned by a host of consultants, contractors, vendors, Facilities Management staff, and other University Departments, such as Academic Technologies, NUIT, Block Museum, NU Police. Thank you to everyone for your help. Harris Hall should be good for yet another century. -John Brzezinski

View from the southeast.

Architect Dan Weese rests, with Mr. Norman Waits Harris looking over his shoulder. What would Mr. Harris think of all this? I should think he would be pleased.

November 2010

2010-12-23T10:34:00.001-08:00

Above, Vasco, the painter, is the victim of an terrible accident. The good news was that he was wearing his hardhat, which saved his life. A section of cast iron baluster fell three stories and landed on this head. It shattered on impact, but his hardhat only suffered a scratch. Unfortunately, a piece of the baluster was deflected to his neck/shoulder, which resulted in a deep cut. Miraculously, Vasco recovered within days and was back at work in less than two weeks.

Stunned workers stare in disbelief at the shattered pieces of cast iron.

Close-up of the shattered cast iron baluster.

Faux painting in progress the 1st floor corridor ceiling.

Faux painting in progress at the stage in Accenture Forum (Room 107). In this photo you can see the yellow underpainting with a layer of glaze covering it various places.

Faux painting finished.

The “palace rug” returned to Harris 108 after being cleaned.

October 2010

2010-12-23T09:28:00.001-08:00

The floor in Room 108: Replacing select pieces of the floor.

Floor pattern of the oak floor in Room 108.

Chair installation in progress in Room 107.

Dan Weese and Anthony Douglas discover their common interest in fashion.

The decorative molding installed at the new ceiling of Room 108. The ceiling appears to be a standard plaster, but in fact is a high tech material, imported from Switzerland, with acoustical properties.

Lower level.

First floor. The balusters and railings incomplete. Hmm.

September 2010

2010-12-23T09:12:00.001-08:00

Fresh concrete at the north entrance.

Bluestone paver installation in progress at the new south terrace.

Room 107, above, is nearly ready for carpet installation.

Carpet partially installed in Room 107. Dan Weese and Don McDougal contemplate . . . something.

Trying to figure out the mistake in the subcontractor’s calculations for the rise and run at the north stair. From left, Anthony Douglas, Don McDougal, Dan Weese, Ron McAllister.

Installing the concrete sidewalk east of Harris Hall.

Installation of stone at north entrance stair.

Yellow underpainting at the first floor ceiling, in preparation of multiple glazes of pigment. The resulting faux painting finish will result in an appearance that is convincing.

Stone cleaning in progress.

Hmm. Blackboard covers window. How did that happen?

August 2010

2010-12-23T09:01:00.001-08:00

Room 107 – painting stripping and ceiling work in progress.

Marble floor installation in progress at the lower level.

Room 107 – all the wood is stripped of numerous coats of paint.

Stair no. 2

A marble stair tread awaiting installation.

Faculty Lounge – secret floor leveling code.

Fretting over the carpet border layout.

Mechanical room.

Installing waterproofing system on the plaza and stairs.

Underlayment at the new, larger stage in Room 107.

Stone for the exterior stairs and plaza.

July 2010

2010-12-23T08:29:00.001-08:00

Work stopped during a 20 strike.

Meeting to discuss keying. From left, Dan Weese, Paula Blaskovitz, Phil Sanders, Tony Hicks.

Door delivery. Curious forklift moves without turning. i.e. it will move sideways without turning at all!

June 2010

2010-12-23T08:09:00.001-08:00

Weekly meeting.

Harris 107, above.

The schedule . . . before the strike.

Superintendent Ron McAllister.

Selecting marble flooring for the lower level.

Dan Weese and I test the seating mock-up in Harris 108.

Elevator rails await installation.

The new elevator shaft.

Assembling the elevator cab.

Assembling the elevator

Unloading a window delivery.

Faculty Lounge in construction.

Beginning to install forms for the new stairs serving the lower level.

A few spools of the many miles of wiring in Harris Hall.

Painstaking work . . . stripping years of paint away in Harris 107.

Forming stairs continues.

Freshly poured concrete stairs.

Troweling fresh concrete.

Installing windows.

Installing drywall at the 3rd floor.

Wood trim at offices.

May 2010

2010-12-23T07:50:00.001-08:00

The new stair connecting the 2nd and 3rd floor.

Top of the new stair (Stair 2).

Scaffolding encircles Harris Hall to facilitate facade restoration.

Facade Restoration

2010-04-22T20:52:00.001-07:00

Harris Hall, reminiscent of a Christo installation, is wrapped with scaffolding. The scaffolding, erected by Jimmy Z Masonry, serves as a platform for workers to restore the building’s facade. Although Harris looks fairly good to the casual eye, close inspection reveals numerous problems. Although the facade has seen periodic and routine maintenance over the years, it has not had comprehensive attention for nearly 100 years. A description of some of what is being done follows.

The arrows in the photo above point to “spalling” of the limestone near the top of the building. Over time, as masonry joints have failed (an inevitable event), moisture entered the wall cavity and caused the mild steel supports to rust. As metal rusts, it expands and, when the steel is close to the face of the stone (~2” or closer), the resulting pressure causes the stone to “spall” or fracture. The next photo reveals a small piece of steel that caused the spall at the upper arrow in the photo above.

In such cases, either a portion or an entire stone will be replaced. This raises the obvious question, “won’t this simply happen again?” Eventually, it may, but meanwhile, we are addressing the source of the moisture, Water has been finding it’s way behind the stone facade principally because the grout between the stones has deteriorated over time. This has caused significant damage at the parapets (top of the wall). Repeated cycles of freezing and thawing destroyed the brick walls behind the stone. Eventually, the stone at the parapets would have failed dramatically. i.e. pieces of stone would literally fall of the building. Presently, the parapet is being dismantled, reflashed and re-built. See next two photos:

Above, large sections of stone lie on the roof, awaiting to be reinstalled.

Above: Worker cleans out stone joints in preparation for new grout.

Work in progress.

March 30, 2010

2010-03-30T18:58:00.001-07:00

Above: Last year, chilled water piping was re-routed around the future basement mechanical room addition on the west side of the building. Now the re-routed piping is being connected to the building.

Don McDougal II provides a bit of shadow so we can evaluate the latest mortar mock-up.

Dan Weese gives the mortar mock-up the “thumbs up.” The masonry contractor will be relieved.

Above: Shelving mock-up in a typical faculty office. The mismatched file cabinets were installed to confirm that a variety will fit under the bottom shelf.

Opposite of the wall of shelving (previous photo), a U-shaped desk will slip in between the wood uprights.

Mock up of a window and frame.

March 23, 2010

2010-03-23T21:13:00.001-07:00

Above, slab poured in the south addition.

Two photos above: Matching the original mortar has proven to be a challenge.

Cutting with a torch on the third floor.

Looking through the open roof at University Hall. A view that will not be seen again in our life time.

A “Lull,” which is also known as a “high lift” is essentially a heavy duty, rubber tired, telescoping fork lift that can lift 6,000 lbs. to 42 feet high. The rubber tires and it’s weight allow it to maneuver easily in the deep mud that surrounds Harris Hall. Technically, it’s called a “telehandler.” Manufacturer’s photo below shows the stabilizers extended. (note: It costs more than a BMW).

Chargers everywhere underscore the reliance on batteries for power tools.

“Shoring” supports the freshly poured concrete slab that tops the south addition. This photo is taken in what will be the Center for Historical Studies.

Sly portrait of Don McDougal II, Turner Project Manager.

Sly portrait of Ron McAllister, Turner Superintendent.

Scaffolding has been erected on the east side of Harris Hall to facilitate masonry restoration.

The Lull looks like a toy from above.

Looking at the new addition from the southeast corner.

Standing (up high) in what will be the Graduate Student Lounge, looking west toward one of the classrooms.

One office has been drywalled and will serve to mock up shelving, wood trim, etc.

March 2, 2010

2010-03-03T06:19:00.001-08:00

Placing concrete on the 2nd floor at Harris Hall, 3-2-10.

Above, Mike Long (Turner), Don McDougal (Turner), in short sleeves, because the building is now enjoying temporary heat, and Dan Weese (Weese Langley Weese).

Above, scaffolding erected in Harris 108 to facilitate construction of new ceiling. The crates hold the components of the aluminum wall system that will define the stairwells. Previously, the stairs were open, allowing a potential fire to easily travel from floor to floor. Modern building codes require that stairs are enclosed with rated construction to facilitate egress and to prevent (or at least limit) fire from spreading from one floor to the next. Enter Alumflam, a fire rated aluminum glazed wall system. The Aluflam system is composed of relatively small sections of aluminum and special fire resistant glass, providing a wall system that allows the stairs to remain light and to maintains the sight lines that existed before the renovation.

February 17, 2010

2010-02-21T20:42:00.001-08:00

Above, cutting metal decking for the auditorium stage.

Don McDougal II (Project Manager) and Ron McAllister (Superintendent) at the field office in Room 108.

Concrete deck and stairs serve as the roof for the new mechanical room on the west side of the building. They will get covered with a waterproof membrane and stone.

Field trip to pick stone for the 1st floor corridor.

The color coded edges of slabs of stone.

The future administrative office of the Department of History.

2nd floor, looking south.

3rd floor, looking south.

East side of the 3rd floor, looking south.

South end of the 3rd floor, at the stairwell opening, looking north.

Looking into the south addition. The Center for Historical Studies will be situated in the foreground. The Department of History Seminar Room will be located in the far corner.

Steelworker prepares steel rebar reinforcement. The plywood “boxes” are forms for windows.

Plumbers at work in the Lower Level.

Temporary moisture protection over the west addition.

There Is Love In This Work

2010-02-05T05:49:00.001-08:00

The roof of the new subterranean mechanical room on the west side of Harris Hall will be a structural concrete structure that will support new stairs at the main building entrance and a plaza that joins the building with the main path that connects the campus to Sheridan Road. A plywood deck was constructed to support the steel rebar and concrete. This deck is supported by temporary “shoring” (a network of metal posts and wood beams), that will soon be removed (see the photo).

The still photos . . .

View Full Album

The movie . . .

January 26, 2010

2010-01-27T19:58:00.001-08:00

Decking installed over the mechanical room and steel reinforcement installation in progress.

January 18, 2010

2010-01-27T19:32:00.001-08:00

Below, the first of several large sections of air handling equipment waits on Sheridan Road to be lifted into the new subterranean mechanical room.

January 14, 2010

2010-01-14T20:03:00.001-08:00

Assembling pipe.

Above: Inside the new mechanical room.

Lower level.

The new, larger stage in the auditorium (room 107).

2nd floor.

Building Committee discussion of color selections.

January 11, 2010

2010-01-11T19:18:00.001-08:00

January 5, 2010

2010-01-05T20:34:00.001-08:00

Above, Mike Long and Don McDougal (Turner) watch as architect Dan Weese examines stone samples submitted by Mike VanEtten of Murphy Marble Co. (checked shirt). The existing stone floor in the 1st floor corridor, which we are restoring, is paved with Tennessee Marble (color: Quaker), as are the two stairwells. The south stair (see photo below) will be entirely re-built and extended to reach the 3rd floor, whereas the north stair and the 1st floor flooring are being cleaned and repaired. The 1st floor corridor walls are finished with a French Limestone. Walls, although seemingly in good condition, actually require a lot of work to restore. There are many cracked and loose pieces of stone. In addition, both the stone floors and walls have to be cleaned.

Above: The south stair hangs by heavy steel rods. The walls surrounding the stair have been entirely removed.

Above: Two things going on here. First, two portions of the 1st floor stone corridor floor and wall were cleaned using two different strengths of cleaner. Second, several stone samples were submitted for consideration, however, all were too dark.

Above: A pallet of loose and damaged French Limestone pieces that were removed from the 1st floor corridor walls. The two circled stones were submitted for consideration, but are two dark. Another submittal is necessary.

Above: Dreaded review marks on a shop drawing.

Shop Drawings? What are those? Glad you asked. The contract between Northwestern University and the contractor is based on a set of drawings and specifications. The specifications require that the contractor submit, for every component, certain information to the architect for review to assure compliance with the contract documents. Generically, this information is referred to as “shop drawings,” primarily because much of this information is submitted in the form of detailed, scale drawings. Sometimes such submittals consist of nothing more that a simple catalog sheet. Others involved dozens of large drawings. The shop drawing process also serves as the vehicle for making material and color selections. In the case of stone, for example, detailed drawings are submitted, showing the profiles of every stone, as well as a range of stone samples from which selections are made for actual installation. Often, shop drawings are approved on the first submittal. Sometimes, it takes several submittals before everything is confirmed to be correct. On a project of this scale there are many shop drawings. At this point, I have four “banker’s boxes” filled with shop drawings. See the next photo:

Above: One of four boxes of shop drawings in my office. Among the shop drawings are “coordination drawings,” which are drawings that several trades must accurately identify their work within the context of the work of other contractors. These usually include the work of the electrician, plumber, pipe fitter (heating & cooling), and tin knocker (ventilation ductwork made from sheet metal).

A January 4, 2010 meeting with the Building Committee to review carpeting samples.

Above: Carpet samples.

Above: A typical faculty office has been defined by steel studs. The plywood will support bookshelves. Note the progress of the electrician (conduits and junction boxes within the stud walls).

Looking up, in a faculty office, at the “chilled beam,” which delivers, depending on the season, either warm or cold air to individual offices. This design affords a remarkable degree of temperature control for occupants. Note the insulation within the exterior wall studs (lower left corner of the photo).

“Rock wool” insulation. It’s green in spite of the fact that it appears brown.

New concrete walls define the accessible ramp at the north side of the building. These will eventually be clad with stone.

West elevation: Note the opens that have been cut through the concrete foundation wall. This will accommodate ductwork and piping between the new subterranean mechanical room (foreground) and the lower level.

New subterranean mechanical room, viewed from the south.

Working in the new mechanical room. The large tube to the right of the hardhat in the sump pit is one of two temporary braces that will eventually be removed.

The new Classroom L-07. The floor is stepped to provide superior sight lines of the instructor.

Workmen erecting a temporary scaffold between between the 2nd and 3rd floor. (1-5-09)

3rd floor (1-5-09)

The red arrow is pointed at a portion of a window jamb that still has the original stain and varnish finish. The yellow arrow below it points to a jamb that is partially stripped. The left arrow points to a mullion that has been stripped to bare wood. The process is slow and laborious; yet slower in cold weather.

Temporary steel supports to facilitate installing a beam.

Creative version of job-built saw horses.

It’s the end of the day.

November 12, 2009 Update

2009-11-15T10:29:00.001-08:00

Some of the concrete walls have been poured. The structure in the left foreground is an air intake.

Preparing to pour footings. The concrete is delivered from the concrete truck via a chute to wheelbarrows and then manually placed. The grid between the form boards is iron rebar that are tied together with steel wires. This serves to reinforce the concrete.

Lower level has been backfilled with “CA-7",” which is a graded crushed stone. That is, the stone are of relatively uniform size. What looks like Kraft paper laid over stone, is actually a product called Cetco Ultraseal. This is a multilayered waterproofing material that combines natural sodium bentonite and a chemically resistant hydrophilic polymer to form a bentonite-polymer alloy (BPA). The is material has swelling properties that seal small concrete cracks. The “paper” is simply overlapped.

Electricians installing conduits under L-107.

Cioni Excavating crane rest atop a massive pile of earth at the southeast corner of the site.

2nd floor: Note copper heating and cooling piping along the brick wall in the background. Metal studs, that define the walls, in the foreground.

Architect Dan Weese photographs wood windows on the east side of the 2nd floor.

The 95 year old window frames are being carefully stripped of layers of paint.

After all the paint has been stripped, the wood will be treat with a special epoxy product that will fill any gaps, sanded smooth and repainted.

Building the west basement

2009-11-05T19:45:00.001-08:00

The west basement will house the bulk of the mechanical equipment that will serve the building. Although it is difficult to perceive it in a photo, the excavation is quite deep: Two stories (20 feet). The adjacent earth, which is very sandy, is held back with steel sheets driven into the ground. The large, horizontal steel tubes, called whalers, serve to keep this temporary steel “wall” from buckling inward. The bottom of the excavation is inches above the water table. What appear to be walls (some spray painted blue) are forms that define the foundation wall. After the form construction is completed, which includes the steel reinforcement within them, the void between the forms will be filled with concrete. Many, many truckloads of concrete. After the concrete has hardened, the forms will be removed (“stripped”) and the new foundation walls will be visible.

When completed, the mechanical room will be entirely subterranean, topped with a new set of stairs, an entry plaza and landscaping.

I shoot with my camera set to record at 9 megapixels and the image files range from about 3,500 to 5,500 pixels in width, depending on the amount of detail and color in the subject. I normally reduce the image size to 1,000 pixels wide and format the image for viewing on the web. i.e. so the images load quickly. However, I really like the amount of detail in the following image, so posted the original image size(3,456 x 2,592 pixels), however, optimized for faster loading. Click the image to see the steel (“rebar”) between the forms.

The next photo shows the south end of the building. The foundation wall below the existing fireplace in “the treaty room” (Room 108) has been reinforced with steel and the foundation wall opened. A second basement will be constructed on the south end of the building and the opening in the foundation wall will be part of a new corridor.

Carpet

2009-11-02T20:02:00.001-08:00

Away from the dust and noise . . . an afternoon at the Mart selecting carpet.

August - September

2009-10-15T18:18:00.001-07:00

There has been a great deal happening at Harris in the last two months and the site has been overrun with equipment and simmering with activity. One day, in August, I counted twelve pieces of machinery on site. i.e. backhoes, telescoping booms, cranes, etc. Most of it was in use!

This time there are two movies documenting the activities at Harris Hall, plus a bonus video. Dan Weese and I have been talking about congas and bongos (see separate posting on this HERE), so when we heard drumming just outside the construction fence, we had to investigate. The bonus video, called BOOMSHAKA (after the drumming group) documents what we discovered beyond the fence. Enjoy.

The BONUS video:

June-July

2009-08-06T06:10:00.000-07:00

The image above shows the massive built-up steel beam (four feet high!) that spans above the auditorium (a.k.a. room 107). This beam carries the (rather significant) load of the building above. Impressive.

My last posting, I learned from two friends, was blocked from viewing in China. Evidently these Harris Hall updates are either too controversial or subversive; hopefully not blocked after a qualitative review. It brings the image to mind of a person similar in disposition as the listener in “The Lives Of Others.” This post is dedicated to that person, should he/she exist, and comes with a personal message: “Go ahead, let it be.” The following short movie, certainly to be blocked as well, is a synopsis of the activities at Harris Hall during June and July. Turn up the volume good and loud!

Trees

2009-07-21T20:35:00.001-07:00

There is a wonderful grove of trees on the west side of Harris Hall; the front side of the building. When we first started the project, I was extremely protective of the trees, instructing contractors to make awkward maneuvers to avoid damaging them or their roots. It wasn’t long, however, before quite a number of them had to be removed to make way for new chilled water and steam piping. And then there was the steam vault. Another couple of trees gave up their places. Finally, in June, the reality of the two additions and the earth retention system presented itself: Yet more trees had to go. It was painful, particularly for me, since I hate to remove any vegetation at all. To wit: When my wife and I built our cabin in Door County, we spent hours tagging and untagging trees with the goal of removing as few trees as possible and only the smallest ones. Each one was devastating loss, taken to create what is now an oddly meandering driveway. Fast forward to Harris Hall, and I was playing the same game with Dan Weese. Tagging trees and untagging trees, hoping to save one or two. In the end, a large number of trees had to go. With all the infrastructure work and the additions, there was no way around it. It was staggering at the time.

As we examined each tree, we began finding fault with them (where we could), to assuage our guilt. “This one has barely any leaves anyway.” “Now that the larger one is gone, this scrawny thing looks silly.” “This isn’t is a tree at all; is an overgrown bush!” “This thing will fall over anyway (see photo below), when we excavate for the chilled water line (which was true)”

Mid-spring, high winds felled a large branch of a grand old elm on the east side of the building. The old elm, a spectacular shade tree, was sick (Dutch Elm Disease) and had to come down as well. Then there was the small forest of pines at the southeast corner, between Harris and West Fairchild. Installing earth retention demanded that at least half of the trees be removed. The remaining few would look like orphans. Eventually, we accepted the fact that a new and better landscape plan will be planted next year. Nevertheless, we lament their loss.

Masonry restoration coordination

2009-06-17T19:47:00.000-07:00

Although the facade of Harris Hall appears to be in generally good condition, there is considerable restoration and cleaning that is needed. After all the building is nearly 100 years old. Some of the stone is cracked or spalled (see photo below for a sample of a spall) and has to be replaced or repaired. About 25% of the mortar joints need to be ground out and re-grouted. The parapet is in poor shape and has to be taken apart and re-built. Lastly, there is general dirt and moss that needs to be cleaned. The following photos were taken during a June 16, 2009 meeting with the masonry contractor. At the same time as the masonry coordination meeting, representatives of the architectural firm, Wiss Janey Elstner, engaged by Turner, were inspecting the building for the purpose of preparing an existing conditions survey.

Dan Weese – Jimmy Z (mason) – Don McDougal

Dan Weese – Don McDougal - Jimmy Z (mason)

WJE representative inspecting south facade.

Example of a “spall.” Spalling can occur for a variety of reasons. i.e. a rusting anchor can expand behind the stone and exert sufficient pressure to spall the stone. Settlement or some other pressure exerted from behind the stone can cause a spall. Simple freeze-thaw action, if water penetrates behind the stone, can cause a spall.

This photo shows the moss and dirt that has to be scraped and cleaned from the parapet on the north side of the building.

The Start of Something Good

2009-05-13T15:35:00.001-07:00

In February, 2009, the architect assembled a package of drawings and specifications for bidding. Concurrently, I prepared invitations and a bid form. On March 2, 2009, seven general contractors were invited to submit bids for the renovation of Harris Hal and were informed that they would have the architect’s bid documents delivered to them on Friday, March 13, 2009. We’re not superstitious.

The bidders were informed that an initial pre-bid conference and walk-through of the building would take place at 1:00 p.m., Wednesday, March 11, 2009. A second, follow-up pre-bid walk-though was scheduled to take place exactly one week later. The attendance at the first pre-bid was good; as expected. Attendance at the second meet was staggering. Whereas the first meeting was attended by general contractors and some sub-contractors, the second meeting was an elbow-to-elbow affair with about 120-130 attendees. Good thing we didn't have donuts; we would have been short. I had never seen so many people attend a pre-bid conference; evidence of our economic times.

Bids were due Friday, April 3rd, however, contractors asked for additional time. The issuance of several clarifying addendum was routine, but the sheer number of sub-contactors bidding, I think, was taxing the estimating teams. Some contractors reported that over two dozen mechanical sub-contactors provided bids and over thirty electrical sub-contractors threw their hats into the ring. It takes time to analyze that much data. The bid date was pushed forward to April 6th (my birthday).

It took me a day and half to synthesize all the bid information into a comparative spreadsheet and yet more time to wade through the other supporting information: bid qualifications, schedules, logistics plan, resumes, etc. Four of the seven GC’s were invited to meetings to review scope, schedule, logistics and staffing, as well as to discuss their bid exceptions. A couple of weeks later, following a detailed examination of the bids, the work was awarded to the low bidder, Turner Construction Company. But admittedly, the excitement of the moment, was a bit overshadowed by the knowledge that the other qualified bidders, who had worked so hard in the effort to land the job, were left disappointed.

Good Team

The Turner construction team is led by two very seasoned construction executives. Anthony Douglas, Project Executive, will be responsible for the overall management of the project. Anthony was most recently headed up the renovation of Annie May Swift, and has worked on Wieboldt Hall (Chicago Campus), a renovation in Rubloff Building (Chicago Campus), and a $3.1 million renovation in the Jacobs Center. Ron McAllister, Project Superintendent, will oversee the day-to-day construction work at Harris Hall. Ron most recently completed the much anticipated new Modern Wing addition to the Art Institute of Chicago. Prior to that he was the Project Superintendent on the Robert H. Lurie Medical Research Center (Chicago Campus). Anthony and Ron will be supported by Don McDougal, Project Engineer and Mike Long, Assistant Project Engineer. To be sure, the project is in capable hands.

Now what?

We submitted an application for a building permit some time ago. The drawings have been reviewed by the City of Evanston and issuance of a permit is pending two things: First, a permit by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, fondly referred to by their acronym, MWRD. Presently the drawings are “in the system,” and we hope to have them back within the next month or so. Second, we await drawings and calculations from the earth retention sub-contractor, Thatcher Foundations. These must be submitted to the City, reviewed and approved, before they will issue the permit. Meanwhile, the piping work that AMS Mechanical has been doing outside the building is all but finished and Turner plans to undertake some additional demolition within the next few weeks. The plan, pending the building permit, is to start construction in earnest the first week of July.

Steam vault construction

2009-04-17T12:08:00.000-07:00

Phase 1

2009-03-20T11:34:00.000-07:00

Phase 1 of Harris Hall involved interior abatement and demolition, as well as relocation of existing steam and chilled water piping outside the building. See the movie to see how it happened.

Phase 1 from John Brzezinski on Vimeo.

Moving

2009-02-19T19:17:00.000-08:00

The movie below documents the move out of Harris Hall by the Department of History, International Program Development and the Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences IT group in early December, 2008. Moving out may seem like a minor aspect of a renovation project, but in fact a move of an entire, functioning educational unit takes an incredible amount of planning and preparation. Paula Blaskovitz, History's department assistant, and her colleagues get the credit for planning a virtually seamless move. Of course, we have to recognize Bill Owens and his team of skilled movers for providing boxes, moving tags, coordination assistance, and for the physical work of hauling all the contents out of the building, into trucks and to everyone's temporary offices. Everything (nearly 3,000 boxes and about 150 filled file cabients) had to be carried down the stairs from the upper floors or up the stairs from the lower level. There is no elevator in Harris Hall . . . yet.

There are two options for you to view the movie. You can watch the Vimeo hosted version below (low resolution) or download a higher resolution copy HERE (click "save file") and watch it on your computer (preferably in full screen mode). In any case, turn up the sound on your computer before starting the movie.

Moving from John Brzezinski on Vimeo.

History

2009-01-27T20:57:00.001-08:00

History (appropriately): Harris Hall was named after Norman Wait Harris (1846-1916), founder of Harris Bank (Chicago), philanthropist, trustee and benefactor. It was built in 1914 to accommodate the departments of history, political science and economics. Most recently, the building housed primarily the Department of History, classrooms and a few other occupants.

Harris Hall, an official Evanston landmark, was designed in the Neoclassical Revival style, by renown American architect Charles Coolidge (1858-19360), of Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge (Boston). Locally, he also designed the Chicago Public Library (1892), presently known as the Chicago Cultural Center, the Art Institute of Chicago (1892), and the 35-room Joseph Medill residence (1897, Wheaton, IL, now known as the Robert R. McCormick residence).

The building, in remarkably good condition for it's age, has only seen minor remodeling and, of course, maintenance. Recognizing the necessity to bring the building to modern standards of safety and comfort the University funded a comprehensive renovation project in early 2007. A first step was the organization of a Building Committee, comprised of Dept. of History faculty and representatives from University administration, the Provost's office, and Facilities Management. As a second step, McGuire Igleski & Associates (Evanston, IL), historic preservation architects, were hired to document and assess the historic elements of the building.

Next came the work of selecting a suitable architectural firm to prepare a comprehensive Program of Requirements and design drawings. In June, 2007 four highly respected and qualified firms were invited to submit proposals:

~ Booth Hansen & Associates
~ Hammond Beeby Rupert Ainge Architects
~ Destefano + Partners
~ Weese Langley Weese Architects

After considerable evaluation (all the firms were emminently qualified), the University hired Weese Langley Weese Architects and work began to identify and catalog the programmatic needs for the building. This process involved numerous meetings between the Building Committee and architects and culminated in February, 2008 with a final Program of Requirements. The Program included two additions to the building in order to meet the space needs of the Dept. of History, the Center for Historical Studies, and Registrar's classrooms. A garden level addition, on the south end of Harris Hall, will accommodate the Center for Historical Studies and a Seminar Room for the Dept. of History. The roof of this addition will serve as a new terrace, accessible from room 108 (the wood paneled room that architect Dan Weese refers to as "the treaty room"). The other addition will be a subterranean mechanical room on the west side of Harris Hall. The existing west stairs will be removed, a deep basement built and new stairs and sidewalk installed as a roof. The building will be equipped with new heating and cooling systems, an elevator, and contemporary life-safety systems (i.e. fire alarm, sprinklers). Additionally, the building will be LEED certified.

The Department of History, WCAS IT, and International Program Development moved out of Harris Hall at the end of the Fall Quarter, 2008. In early January, Colfax Corporation began interior demolition and asbestos abatement. At the time of this writing, the architects remain busy in the final preparation of construction drawings. In the coming weeks, AMS Mechanical Systems Inc. will begin re-routing steam and chilled water pipes to make room for the two additions. The general construction work will begin in spring.

I am inveterate, if not compulsive, photographer and have carried a camera with me, pretty much all the time, since I was 15. I have starting shooting video recently. I have managed to take nearly 800 photos and video clips in and around Harris Hall since the inception of the project. Since I am rather late to begin a photo blog about the Harris Hall project, I decided to make a movie from the materials I have collected. There are two options for you to view the movie. You can watch the Vimeo hosted version below (low resolution) or download a high resolution copy HERE (click "save file") and watch it on your computer (preferably in full screen mode). In any case, turn up the sound on your computer before starting the movie. Stay tuned . . . more to come. -John

Before The Move from John Brzezinski on Vimeo.