| From top to bottom, Kauke is a hive of construction activity
For Immediate Release
June 29, 2005
 |
| The south side of Kauke Hall. A coffee shop will be added
to the ground floor, opening out to a courtyard. |
» Kauke Hall Construction Photos
WOOSTER, Ohio — Barely a month after the Class of 2005 marched
through the arch at commencement, Kauke Hall is filled with dust and
debris, the whine of saws and the percussive battering of jackhammers.
Construction workers swarm from rooftop to basement as the $18 million
renovation of the college’s signature building gets underway.
Sections of roof have been peeled back to allow new air conditioning
and air handling equipment to be lifted into place by cranes. Sixties-era
dropped ceilings have been torn out and classroom and office walls demolished,
revealing the building’s original brick bearing walls, yellow pine
timber framing, high ceilings, and floors formed by laying two-by-fours
on edge, a technique more commonly used in turn-of-the-century warehouses.
The elevator shaft has been turned into a shute for moving demolition
debris from the upper floors to the basement, where a Bobcat front-end
loader scoops it up and carries it out of the building.
Outside, masons in lifts and on scaffolds chip away at loosened and
damaged bricks. Some will be reused, but just to be certain there are
enough to repair the dozens of cracks in Kauke’s exterior, 20,000
new bricks have been ordered.
In a trench that runs the length of the building’s north side,
a crew is encasing the hand-set sandstone blocks of the foundation in
concrete to create a smooth surface on which to adhere a waterproof membrane.
During their excavation, workers found piles of red bricks and, a bit
deeper, a thick layer of ash from the fire that destroyed Old Main in
1901.
Work will continue through the 2005-06 academic year. By the time students
return in the fall of 2006, the 103-year-old building will have been
made new again.
The College of Wooster is an independent liberal arts college, nationally
recognized for an innovative curriculum that emphasizes independent learning.
Each Wooster senior works one-on-one with a faculty mentor to create
an original research project, written work, performance or art exhibit.
Founded in 1866, the college enrolls approximately 1,800 students. |
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