To: Wellesley College Community
From: Science Center Core Project Team (Ann Velenchik, Dave Chakraborty, Cathy Summa, Michelle Maheu, Tim Singleton)
Re: Update on What’s Happening on Science Hill
Date: September 3, 2019
We hope you all had a great summer. We are excited to welcome you back to campus and fill you in on the construction that has been happening and will soon happen on Science Hill. Despite some bumps in the road, we are on time and on budget, and the new spaces are beautiful and functional. We hope you are as eager as we are to be learning and working in these new facilities!
The Projects
Modular teaching and research spaces. During the 2018–19 academic year, modular buildings provided teaching and research laboratories in place of those in the L-wing that were under renovation. Those lab spaces have now been converted to classrooms and office clusters for Science Center faculty and staff, fulfilling the functions that were housed in Sage Hall. The modular spaces have the same names as last summer:
- The brick/brown building is Mod 1, room numbers M100s.
- The blue building is Mod 2, room numbers M200s.
- The yellow building is Mod 3, room numbers M300s.
- The green building is Mod 4, room numbers M400s.
The Leaky Beaker will remain in Mod 4 until the new building is complete.
Science faculty office locations. Faculty and staff are housed in Simpson Hall and Clapp Library, as well as in the E-wing, the modulars, and the renovated L-wing. Students should consult their syllabi for the location of their instructors’ offices. We will be posting directories at building entries soon. Many thanks to Deb Spielman, Devon Gallant, and Julia Driesch for their work in coordinating and executing all the moving that took place and will take place, and to George Dai, John DeBolt, and Larry Knowles for their efforts to keep equipment working as we move everything back and forth.
Global Flora. We are delighted to announce that construction of Global Flora was completed on schedule and within budget. We had a lovely opening ceremony in honor of the 40th reunion of Mary H. White ’79, whose generosity made the project possible. Over the summer, the botanical gardens staff planted hundreds of plants, making it among the most exciting greenhouse spaces in the world. Special thanks to Kristina Jones, Rob Nicholson, and Jenn Yang, along with all the staff and students who worked to bring this marvelous vision to life. Global Flora will be open to the campus community in September (though hours will be limited for the time being), and to the general public after the new science building opens in fall 2021.
Observatory. The new dome is complete, the new telescope is in place, and the process of taking data using the new equipment has begun. Particular thanks to Kim McLeod for her hard work and persistence in getting this project to completion. Stay tuned for images taken with this new telescope!
The L-wing. The renovation of the L-wing is substantially complete, move-in began on August 19, and labs and classes will be held in it this semester! We hope that those of you who will be teaching, learning, experimenting, and working in these spaces will enjoy the improvements we have made, and that those of you who don’t routinely go to the Science Center will find a time to take a look. This beautiful space is the result of years of planning, designing, and building, and our thanks go out to the members of the science faculty advisory committee, the architects at SOM and all of their consultants, Turner Construction and its subcontractors, and the science faculty and staff who have endured inconvenience and discomfort with patience and grace.
The Focus. The Science Center Focus has been closed since December 2018, when we started the process of installing the steel required to hold up the focus wall during the demolition of Sage and the construction of the new building. The Focus will remain closed until the new building opens in fall 2021.
Sage Hall. Demolition of Sage will begin on September 3, 2019. This is a crowded demolition zone, with so many other building close by, and the work will need to be done carefully and patiently. Construction will then begin on the new building, which we plan to occupy by the start of classes in September 2021. Until then, the area is totally off-limits to the campus community!
Navigating the Site
Science Hill is an active construction site, and it is important that all members of our community obey the posted signs, refrain from entering the construction zones even when work is not underway, and exercise caution near all work areas.
Now that L-wing is open and Sage is being demolished, access to the building will be reversed from the 2018–19 pattern. Enter the L-wing through the entrance from College Road or through the loading dock. Access the E-wing through the L-wing. To get to the modular classrooms in Gray lot, follow the path around the L-wing to the east or take the path up the hill from Paramecium Pond to the west of the building. The better route depends on your starting point and your preference for shorter and steeper versus longer and flatter. Posted signs will guide you.
Noise and Disruption
Demolition and construction are noisy and dusty and generally disruptive. We are once again working with our general contractor, Turner Construction, their subcontractors, and a team of mitigation consultants from CSL Consulting to keep occupants, neighbors, and the community as a whole informed about what to expect, and to minimize the negative impact of the project on your environment. If we are failing to do that, please let us know by writing to us at scienceconstruction@
So far, we have been very successful in adhering to our construction schedule while continuing to fulfill our mission to educate the next generation of women scientists and expand the frontier of scientific knowledge. We are grateful to everyone on campus who has worked so hard to pull this off, and to the faculty, staff, and students whose patience we have taxed. We hope the beauty and functionality of the new spaces on Science Hill will inspire us all to continue to be patient as we get to 2021.
