Author: Kaitlyn Reeser
Full-scale reconstruction of Swan Hall will begin this March, upon receipt of building permits from the city of Los Angeles. Preliminary construction on the project began last summer and has accelerated over the past few months.
“The work that has been done thus far on the original Swan Hall is preparatory in nature — interior demolition, abatement of lead paint and asbestos, waterproofing the foundation, taking care of electrical, water, gas and sewer connections,” Director of Communications Jim Tranquada said.
Following unanimous approval at the Feb. 10 Los Angeles Citywide Planning Commission Hearing, Swan is scheduled to obtain building permits in March that will allow the building to be fully functional by the fall of 2012.
“That approval is a critical step,” Tranquada said.
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Upon completion of the construction project, Swan Hall will resume housing one third of the Occidental faculty offices that are now in temporary facilities. It will be modified to better serve students and faculty.
“The project renovates the existing 16,000 square feet building and places a 22,000 addition to the west. The renovated and new building sections will be joined and the new combined facility will be fully ADA accessible including [a] faculty lounge, study rooms and an outdoor courtyard area overlooking the Gilman Fountain,” Facilities Project Manager John Mortl said.
Swan Hall was built in 1914 as a men’s dormitory, making it one of the three original buildings on campus. In 1960, Swan was converted to faculty offices.
In recent years, it has become evident that alterations needed to be made to improve both the safety and functionality of the building.
“Offices were small, spaces were poorly designed, almost all of the building was inaccessible to anyone who is physically challenged and faculty rightfully complained for years. When Brian Bloom, the project architect, toured Swan for the first time, he thought one of the Psychology labs was a closet,” Tranquada said.
Efforts are being made to preserve Swan Hall’s unique and historic nature.
“The project has been designed to keep as much of the building’s original exterior fabric in place as possible. This means the college took extra measures to engineer solutions to meet both the structural seismic improvement and historic preservation goals,” Mortl said.
The renovation of Swan Hall has affected more than just Occidental’s faculty and administration. Students on campus have been inconvenienced by the construction as well as the relocation of professor offices.
“Construction on Swan Hall has been going on as long as I’ve been in school here. I don’t even know what they are planning to do with the building,” Ryan Flanagan (first-year) said.
Despite the difficulty and lengthiness of the renovation process, the re-opening of Swan Hall seems to be a major source of excitement on campus. The new building will boast a much improved space for faculty in particular.
“When the project is completed, faculty in those six departments (History, Sociology, Politics, ECLS, American Studies and Psychology) will have twice as much room — room that was designed as office space,” Tranquada said.
“It is our sincere belief that the project will provide a wonderful and vibrant environment for our students, faculty and community,” Mortl said.
Prospective students taking tours have also been affected by the construction that surrounds Gilman Fountain, but Director of Admissions Sally Stone Richmond sees this disruption as a good thing.
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