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Iron workers raise the last beam on North Quad
(Nov 2008) A traditional "topping out" ceremony on Tuesday, November 18 marked the placement of the last steel beam for the new North Quad living/learning complex that will include the home of the School of Information.
Members of Iron Workers Local 25 added the beam, which rose from the ground complete with a U.S. flag, a U-M "block M" flag, and a small pine tree. The ceremony marks the last and highest piece of structural steel for the building to go up. The pine tree is an ages-old tradition that signifies the structure was completed safely and offers good wishes to all who will inhabit the building.
Guests invited to witness the ceremony were asked to sign their names to the side of the beam for posterity. Representing the School of Information were Associate Professor Paul Edwards; Jim Leach, facilities manager; and Debbie Apsley, director of human resources and business affairs. All have represented the School during numerous planning meetings for the new building.
Combining sophisticated academic areas with suite-style residence space for 450 students, the North Quad Residential and Academic Complex will provide classrooms, studios and offices for five information and communications-related programs. The result will be an environment in which lively interactions among students and faculty spill seamlessly from classrooms to hallways to faculty offices to living quarters -- all under the same roof. The $175 million, 360,000-square-foot project is on schedule for completion in summer 2010.
The architectural team of Einhorn Yaffee Prescott (EYP) and Robert A. M. Stern Architects created a design that draws on classic features of academic architecture. On the ground level, the brick and stone building encloses one continuous interior. Above ground, the complex appears as two separate buildings -- an L-shaped, seven-story academic tower and a 10-story residential tower arranged around interlocking courtyards, and connected by a cloister evocative of the Law Quad.
Information, communication, and media are major themes for the units that will occupy the academic tower, which will face Washington and State streets. Entities housed in the facility include the Department of Screen Arts and Cultures, the Department of Communication Studies, the Language Resource Center and the Sweetland Writing Center -- all components of the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts.
The School of Information also will bring all of its faculty members together in the building, which will include three TV studios, a Media Gateway, a cyber cafe, media intensive classrooms and research areas, exhibit space, and faculty offices, academic administration space, and graduate student workspaces.
The residence hall will offer two configurations: suites containing two double rooms and a living room and bath, and arrangements of four single rooms sharing a bath. Each residence hall floor houses lounges and cozies. The building also will offer a community learning center with additional small group study areas. The residence design is informed by the work of the Residential Life Initiative, a presidential task force that defined a U-M community of the future that co-locates living space, classrooms and public gathering spaces across campus to create neighborhoods built on the premise that learning and discovery occur everywhere.
A double-height dining hall, accommodating about 180 will be located in a low-rise portion of the academic tower, with views to the outdoor space adjacent to Rackham Auditorium, the central plaza and Washington Street. An image cafe will offer coffee and snacks in an interactive media environment.
Associate Professor Paul Edwards inks his name on the final beam for North Quad.
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Workers connect the cable from an overhead crane to the last steel beam for the new North Quad building.
Debbie Apsley, Paul Edwards, and Jim Leach represented the School of Information at the topping out ceremony.
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