Construction projects give campus a makeover

Students can expect abundant obstacles on their way to class
because of construction projects underway at UCLA during the
2002-03 academic school year.

The Intramural Field Parking Structure, with a projected
completion date in August 2003, has blocked off a large portion of
the Bruin Walk area adjacent to Pauley Pavilion.

The new parking structure will provide 1,200 additional
subterranean parking spaces on two levels beneath the Intramural
Field, according to the UCLA Capital Program’s Web site.

Some students are not pleased with the numerous construction
projects taking place all over campus.

“I don’t understand why they are making a new
parking lot. It’s going to take away the soccer field, and
the parking problem will still not be resolved,” said
third-year English student Eve Biernacki.

But the parking structure is just one example of the various
structures either being renovated, retrofitted or built from the
ground up this year.

A variety of projects are in progress on campus.

The Westwood Replacement Hospital continues to move ahead in
order to meet its September 2004 deadline. The hospital will house
a new emergency center and new operating rooms.

“The existing center was severely damaged due to the 1994
(Northridge) earthquake and the facility needs to meet new codes
developed by the Office of Statewide Health,” said Michael
O’Donnell, assistant vice chancellor of health sciences
capital programs.

Also included in the mix of construction are academic buildings,
spanning from North to South Campus and everywhere in between.

The Men’s Gym is undergoing seismic repair, and the
surrounding area will not be complete until October 2003.

The Men’s Gym will have new life/safety corrections made
as well as program upgrades to improve building space for student
services, O’Donnell said.

Knudsen Hall’s lab renovation entails a conversion of
existing office space into class labs on the first, second and
sixth floors for the Department of Physics and Astronomy.

The department will also get another upgrade in the construction
of the brand-new physics and astronomy building, adjacent to the
department’s current headquarters in Knudsen Hall. After
completion in November 2003, students will discover new research
labs and classrooms, as well as academic and administrative
offices.

In North Campus, Kaufman Hall, commonly known as the dance
building, is experiencing a thorough renovation that has displaced
its students to buildings on Kinross Avenue near Lot 32 in
Westwood.

Students will see an upgrade of the building, construction of a
new theater addition and program improvements for world arts and
culture students.

The Neuroscience Research Center will undergo construction to
provide new lab facilities for the existing neuroscience research
programs of the School of Medicine and Neuropsychiatric Institute,
O’Donnell said.

Other construction projects of note include:

“¢bull; Wooden West addition, expected to be ready for student
use in September 2003.

“¢bull; Acosta Athletic Training Center, which will have
expanded square footage and an additional level, slated for opening
in January 2004. It now blocks the south end of Bruin Walk adjacent
to Pauley.

“¢bull; Courtside building in Sunset Village, scheduled to
reopen in June 2004.

“¢bull; Broad Art Center, which will be completely rebuilt,
opening in September 2004.

UCLA capital programs consist of planning initiatives, urban
design guidelines and construction projects yet to be
initiated.

Since 1986, about $1.7 billion has been deployed to complete a
variety of new construction, renovation, and infrastructure
projects at UCLA. By the end of 2005, roughly half of the campus
will have experienced some degree of renovation.

For more information on construction projects, visit the capital
programs Web site at www.capital.ucla.edu.