The first of five phases to renovate and update technology in Muncie's tallest building is complete.
Work on the third, fourth and fifth floors of Teachers College are done. Occupants have returned to the three floors and classrooms in the area are ready for classes to begin, said Jim Lowe, director of Facilities Planning and Management.
Efforts have moved on to phase two, which focuses on the sixth, seventh and eighth floors of the building. Phase two is scheduled to be complete in December.
Lowe said there have been some glitches with construction so far, mainly concerning noise issues and dust affecting floors above and below.
"I think our biggest challenge was the fact that [work areas] are three floors sandwiched between other floors," he said.
It's not the first time the university has continued holding classes in an academic building while it was being renovated. North Quad was divided into sections during renovations between May 2010 and December 2011.
Efforts to minimize disruption to students and faculty from construction have been made during Teachers College renovations, similar to those during renovations at North Quad.
But Lowe said isolating noise in North Quad was easier because it renovated one end or area of the building at a time, whereas phases at Teachers College are divided by floors, making it easier for classes above and below work areas to hear construction.
The biggest issue in Teachers College, though, has been maintaining airflow throughout the building without carrying dust from demolition to other floors, Lowe said. Negative air pressure in rooms they do the dusting in and turning off certain systems so it was directed to areas that would pressurize occupied spaces solved the issue.
The $14 million project will update mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems throughout the entire building.
New energy-efficient light systems and an emergency generator and a fire pump will be added by the time the project is completed. Upgrades will include wider doorways, cosmetic changes and two elevators will be modernized while another will be removed.
Renovations are scheduled to be complete in December 2013.
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