Calvin College announces $35 Million expansion

[Quercus]

A new fieldhouse is long overdue, but the college wanted to make academic buildings a priority. Now that the new communications building is in place, all of the departments at Calvin seem to be satisfied with their facilities (save the art department which is in a windowless basement, but the new downtown facilities are a welcomed addition).

The comment about prairie style architecture is at the center of much debate. Standing on commons lawn, it's easy to appreciate the flow of the praire style, which was preserved in the newer, taller academic buildings (Hekman library, the science building), and each summer one of the dormitories is being renovated to match this architecture better, with 3 of the 7 completed. But with the buildings on the opposite side of the Beltline taking on a radically different look, some are worried that the prairie style is being lost in the newest structures. Last summer a small building was constructed on the Lake Dr. entrance to house campus safety and a better post office. I'm sure many of you have driven by and noticed how boxy and ugly it is. Many students and faculty are worried the prairie elements will not be included in the new fieldhouse and also the new student center which will replace the commons building. Both of these locations are part of the original knollcrest campus and drastic changes to the architecture could lower the beauty of other buildings.

The "woodlot" next to the fieldhouse will be shrinking drastically, despite earlier comments by the administartion that it will be protected. Fire lanes are one of the biggest reasons and the environmental coalition on campus has worked to remove rare species from the lot and transplant them around campus to encourage native landscaping. The designs do not call for LEED certification, though recently there has been student and faculty conversation calling for such designs.

P.S. did you know Calvin uses a specific type of brick in it's buildings? It's called Calvin brick, and is original to the campus.

[hombre_de_ciudad]

Ground-breaking for the Spoelhof Fieldhouse is set for May 4...

Spoelhof Fieldhouse Press Release

The first phase will be done in Fall 2008, and the entire project will be complete at the end of 2009.

[Quercus]

Somewhat off topic, but I thought I'd add that Calvin just raised a wind turbine on campus. It's east of the Prince Conference Center, bordering the ecosystem preserve.

You can see pics and videos here.

[Quercus]

Some pictures of fieldhouse construction on Tuesday.

Foundation work:

This area is where the new arena will be placed.

[sparky05]

Any updates on this one?

[Quercus]

11-14-07

Natatorium work:

Arena foundation and diving section of natatorium:

Arena foundation:

Existing fieldhouse+new arena to the east

Arena foundation and "bowl":

Future site of the indoor track (northwest of existing fieldhouse):

[Quercus]

A refresh of the renovations and additions:

Pictures from Saturday:

Steel going up for the arena, mostly foundation work with the natatorium:

Arena:

Indoor Track:

[Eridony]

Thanks for the pictures. It is always nice to see construction progress through time.

[Paramaribo]

Ahhh. So this is what the pledge drive is for.

[Quercus]

Ahhh. So this is what the pledge drive is for.

[sparky05]

Yesterday:

[Avocado]

The scale of this project makes it difficult to document, but here goes...

Here's the handy map Calvin provides for navigation purposes:

VanNoord Arena:

The main entrance is hidden back there:

Venema Aquatic Center:

I didn't get any shots of the other two structures, maybe next time.

[tamias6]

That's one big project Calvin College is pulling off. Going by the sign. The Basketball Area looks like it will seat a substantial number of people.

[fotoman311]

I got some more photos. I was at Calvin yesterday teaching a bicycle education class to 20 or so cyclists who will be joining the Sea to Sea cross country bicycle tour to raise funds and awareness about poverty ( http://www.crcna.org/pages/sea_front.cfm ). They have a lot of blogs and information on the website, so I recommend checking it out. The cause is "ending the cycle of poverty" which is pretty ambitious.

They will be arriving in town on Aug. 16th and having a large gathering at 5/3rd ballpark on 8/17, before they continue east. I will be doing another training before they leave.

On to the photos:

Here's the new basketball arena

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fotoman311/27...57606530599443/

the arena from a different angle:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fotoman311/27...57606530599443/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fotoman311/27...57606530599443/

I've got a few more photos in a Flickr set here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fotoman311/se...57606530599443/

[fotoman311]

I got some more photos. I was at Calvin yesterday teaching a bicycle education class to 20 or so cyclists who will be joining the Sea to Sea cross country bicycle tour to raise funds and awareness about poverty ( http://www.crcna.org/pages/sea_front.cfm ). They have a lot of blogs and information on the website, so I recommend checking it out. The cause is "ending the cycle of poverty" which is pretty ambitious.

They will be arriving in town on Aug. 16th and having a large gathering at 5/3rd ballpark on 8/17, before they continue east. I will be doing another training before they leave.

On to the photos:

Here's the new basketball arena

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fotoman311/27...57606530599443/

the arena from a different angle:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fotoman311/27...57606530599443/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fotoman311/27...57606530599443/

I've got a few more photos in a Flickr set here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fotoman311/se...57606530599443/

[Quercus]

Some photos from today.

The new indoor track facility (not sure it could be much uglier):

Venema Aquatic Center and renovations to the West entrance:

Aquatic center:

Main entrance and turn around:

Arena

You know you're on a college campus when...

Click here for some outdated interior shots.

[GRDadof3]

I noticed the other day that they're going to town on the Fine Arts Center along the East Beltline. I found some info on Calvin's website:

http://www.calvin.edu/admin/physicalplant/...c/mainpage.html

[organsnyder]

As a recent Calvin alumnus with one of my majors being music, I've been following the FAC renovation very closely. That building has been bursting at the seams for quite some time (people practicing in hallways and stairwells, etc.). It's also been showing its age. Highlights include a lot of new classroom and office space, a new recital hall and art gallery, and a completely refurbished auditorium. There's also discussions underway about what to do with the large pipe organ in the auditorium: whether to do major renovations to it or replace it with a new pipe organ.

I'd hate to be a student this year and have to deal with the construction (scheduled to be done by fall '10), but it is a much-needed improvement.

[LA Dave]

Wow: Quite a bit of work at the FAC. I was a kid when that facility opened, and it was great to finally have a modern music venue available not only for the college but also community groups. This was in the mid-60s, before the DeVos Hall, and the only other venue was St. Cecilia Auditorium. The GR Youth Symphony performed there as well as other groups.

Glad to see that Calvin's always fine music program is bursting at the seams. Calvin graduates have added much to the GR and West Michigan music scene over the years.