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If you haven’t heard, major changes are happening at Seigfred. On Aug. 30, a meeting was held for both staff and students to explain the future renovations that will begin taking place, mainly over the winter break. The meeting was held by Dr. Jody Lamb, who is the director of the Chaddock and Marrow College of Fine Arts.
Lamb started the meeting by stating the remodel will be completely based off student and faculty needs, and everyone’s best interest is at heart. “The school of art and design and much of the college of fine arts will be reorganized and repositioned,” stated Lamb, “We are embarking upon a profound transformation.”
Lamb then went over the timeline of the process. Though they do not have a completely clear picture of how long and what will take place when, we were given an estimation that the renovations will take around two years to complete. Lamb calls the period of the two years “swing.” Students and faculty will “swing” out of Seigfred (moving all of the equipment and relocating to other buildings) and “swing” back in when renovations are finished (move everything back). Dr. Jody Lamb understands that this is a stressful period, but would like to remind students and faculty other departments and schools have done this as well and gotten through it, we are not alone.
Dr. Jody Lamb did a wonderful job explaining what is known so far about the renovations, and reassured everyone that everything is going to be okay and on top of that, improve. “This is a new us,” “This is a good change,” “Good change is the result of wisely directing that change, and your faculty and administrators are working diligently to this capacity. [This is] a retreat of focused recommitment and redesign. A period of regenerative transformation.”
Though Dr. Lamb reassured every one of the good that will come from the “swing” period and the renovations, he also admitted there will be rough patches, “There are many steps, tasks, challenges, and probably some pains […]” He wants to acknowledge this now, so we are prepared in the future, however, his sentiment is clear, pain and hard work must come before the gift we will receive.
So now that you’ve heard the big news (we’re moving!), what is the timeline going to look like, and how will this affect you?
First in the order of things, exams. Exams for students taking classes in Seigfred will be held Dec. 2 through the 7. After that, student access to Seigfred will be completely cut off. This mean all final critiques as well as studio clean ups and removal of personal items must be completed before the 7 at 5 p.m.
After that, all faculty, including Teaching Assistants, will be helping pack and organize Dec. 9 through the 14. Then, renovations will begin over winter break. Professional movers will be used for all of the heavy lifting. No majors or classes outside of the school of art and design will be affected during this time.
So…where do we go after winter break?
All Fine Art students will relocate to different buildings depending upon your major. Graphic design as well as Create Space will be moved to Tupper Hall. Sculpture to the Central Classroom Building. Graphic Design graduate students will be on the Ridges. Printmaking, woodshop, photography, and Painting + Drawing will move to RTEC where 2 galleries, SoA+D Main Office, Sculpture UG Studios, Cube 4, DAT, Photography & Lighting studio, Foundations X-tool library, and faculty offices, and a textile studio will be held. Ceramics will also be permanently moved to the Annex.
Lamb then moved onto the Q&A section of the meeting with this statement, “I am supportive of identifying problems, weaknesses and your areas of concern- these are not complaining they are advancing us towards better function. Please offer your concerns with this in mind.”
Q: “Where are the Art History offices going to be?”
A: “That is a super good question, which I have my absolute favorite answer which is I don’t know. I’m not really sure about the art history offices specifically during the swing […] I believe that all faculty that are not in the offices will be on RTEC on the top floor […] We are looking at floor plans next week. Art History classrooms are going to be scheduled through central classroom.”
Q: “I want to know if there will be a functional space for metal work?”
A: “Right now, there’s a functional space for metal working in the annex. Right now, there’s not a functional space for metal working in any of these spaces *motions towards floorplans of swing spaces* because none of them have been renovated yet. Renovation for RTEC starts Sept. 9. There will be available metal workshops in the classroom. More or less the same square footage as the annex, and the functional equipment, as opposed to the dead soldiers that have been there since you were born and haven’t been hauled out, but all the functional equipment will be moved over there, wired in, and, I’m told, will have proper ventilation.”
Q: “Will RTEC have AC?”
A: “It will have Art and Craft. I don’t know [about the AC]. It’s not going to be any worse than Seigfred. When we switch back, Seigfried will have central AC! As will the new building.”
Q: “Will there be student parking?”
A: “No, there will be no student parking, no faculty parking, no parking. There will be two or three spaces that will be loading dock. Most of the campus does not get to park by their building and get to walk in […], there is just a terrible shortage of parking around all of our spaces. This is going to be one of the challenges that we’re all going to have to work on. The real answer to your question? [This is] going to be one of those hard ships. This is going to be like everybody else. It’s going to be tougher.”
Q: “Where will the graduate ceramics art studios be?”
A: “The decision has been made that there will be ceramic graduate studios. The actual solution to that, is still somewhat in limbo. Now this year, I think you’re actually staying where you are. So, that’s a problem for a year from now, and I can tell you, a year ago, we had lots of problems that we don’t have now that have been dissolved. We’re going into new spaces and there will be things that are better and things that are worse, but I promise you there will be graduate ceramics studios, and they will be adequate. They’ll be okay, we’re not going to let you get screwed, were going to figure it out. There are some moving parts to this that weren’t moving a month ago and I might have had better answers for you. As what happens in these projects, there’s some engineering issues about weights, and floors, and certain areas that are making us play a sort of game of dominos. So, the exact where is, I don’t know, but there will be ceramic graduate studios. God, don’t make me a liar.”
To close the meeting, Dr. Jody Lamb left us with this remark, “Look I have anxieties too. A year ago, when they talked about swinging out, I was like, ‘Swinging is going to suck, it’s going to be terrible. They’re going to put us in spaces that are completely dysfunctional. We’re not going to have the things we need.’ Now, I’m actually excited about swing and think it’s going to be great. It’s going to be hard to sort of make the move, but I think once we’re actually in it, my biggest fear is I’m going to have to be like fighting you all to move back out and into the new facility… We have two years to work on this, and I will tell you, your faculty? They lean. They push. They are advocating and complaining creatively, constructively. That’s why swing is okay, that’s why this will all be okay. I really believe in it.”