Installing a new heating ventilation and air conditioning system is only one of the changes Murphey will see, said Diane Gillis, the facility architect overseeing Murphey Hall. Vinyl tile will be removed to reveal original hardwood floors. Classrooms will receive updated technology including motorized projection screens, DVD systems and Ethernet connections.
But Gillis said the planners recognize the historic value of the building and are emphasizing preservation as well as change. "It was built in the 1920s, and not a lot has been done to it," Gillis said. "We have an opportunity to have a clean slate. We're trying to preserve the character while bringing it up to modern standards."
Memorial Hall
Memorial Hall is scheduled for a $12.9 million renovation that will improve everything from the audience seats to the toilet seats.
The stage house will be torn down and replaced by a larger stage with more wing space, more dressing rooms and updated lighting and stage equipment. "The increased size of the stage house will allow for bigger and better performances, so (Memorial) is more attractive to the performer," said Carolina Union Activities Board President Tony Arcese.
In addition, the number of bathrooms will be increased, a new heating ventilation and air conditioning system installed, the seats replaced and the building made entirely handicapped accessible.
Memorial Hall hosts numerous performances each year ranging from UNC groups such as the Clef Hangers to prestigious performers like the violinist Yo-Yo Ma, who visited UNC on Oct. 16.
"It's a place where the community comes together to view the best, brightest and most creative new ideas, whether it's in the form of a lecture or a performance," said Don Luse, director of the Carolina Union.
Renovations are projected to begin in July and last almost two years. Luse said Union activities planners are looking at other venues for their Performing Arts Series, including the Smith Center and Hill Hall. "We will not neglect having a season," Luse said. "But it will be a transition time and will require creativity."
Playmakers Theatre
Danny Green, a Lab! Theatre technical director, loves working in Kenan Theater, a modern facility where Lab! does most of their shows. But going over to the Playmakers Theatre is like taking a step back in time. "It's very difficult to put on technologically advanced performances there because of the age of the space," said Green, a junior. "It's good for classic plays, but as for anything contemporary, it's difficult to light or do anything technical."
The renovation of Playmakers Theatre might make Green's job and those of other students involved in the theater easier. "Everyone in Lab! is really interested in seeing the renovations," said sophomore Sonya Dowhaluk, a Lab! technical director. "That theater is at least 20 to 30 years behind the times."
To get the day's news and headlines in your inbox each morning, sign up for our email newsletters.
Lab! producer Charlie Todd said Playmakers security should be improved, adding that Lab! had difficulties with vandalism in the past. Todd also said the current lighting system is failing and in need of replacement.
There are also plans to install a heating ventilation and air conditioning system and replace the cramped knee-to-neck seating.
Renovations will take about a year and a half to complete and cost about $1.7 million, $1,287,400 of which is funded by bond money. Todd said Lab!, which only performs four of its 12 shows in Playmakers each year, still will be able to perform in Kenan Theater. But Pauper Players uses Playmakers for its two annual shows.
"There's nowhere else on campus that's a traditional theater space that we have access to," said Pauper Players President David Lorenc. The past two years, Playmakers has been unavailable to Pauper Players, and they have used the Union Cabaret for their musicals, but Lorenc said the space is not ideal for musical theater.
"(The construction) will be an inconvenience, but it's nothing we haven't dealt with before, and the end result would benefit Pauper Players and anyone who uses it," he said.
Health Sciences Library
One renovation site already is causing headaches even before the jackhammers arrive. Almost $11 million in bond money has been allotted to renovate the Health Sciences Library, but the library's plans -- which were supposed to be presented at the Board of Trustees meeting in November -- were pulled from the agenda for reconsideration.
Associate Provost of Health Affairs Ned Brooks has been asked by Chancellor James Moeser to lead a committee that will weigh the pros and cons of moving the library.
"There are some people who think the building is ugly, and it does block the entrance to the Medical School," Brooks said. "But functionally, it's a great location. It's right there in the middle of things."
Arlene Pereira, a sixth-year graduate student in the School of Medicine, said the usefulness of the building far out-weighs the aesthetics. "They have a good start now. It's not pretty, but it's definitely functional," she said.
Brooks said the factors in the decision include the cost, the amount of time and the centrality of the location.
"We don't want to delay renovating the library," Brooks said. "If some other option is going to take a lot more time to complete, we don't want to pursue it."
Brooks also said moving the library might prove to be more convenient. If a new location is selected, the current library can stay open during renovations.
If the current plan is passed, renovations will include updating technology throughout the library. Charlotte Abbate, the project studio leader in charge of the renovations, said more small study rooms equipped with more computer technology and larger labs will be added. In addition, the existing electrical, plumbing and heating ventilation and air-conditioning systems need work.
"We're basically upgrading or replacing all the infrastructure systems in the building," Abbate said.
Brooks said his committee members have not yet been selected and that no specific locations are being considered.
"It will be visited by hundreds and hundreds of students every day and you don't put a facility like that on the corner campus," Brooks said.
Student Family Housing
Bond money also will go toward replacing Odum Village, the aging cluster of student family housing on South Campus.
The project is still in the planning stages, and construction is two to three years off, said Dean Bresciani, the associate vice chancellor for student services.
"What we do have on the board is to build family housing that is contemporary on the local market," Bresciani said. Features of the new housing include a full kitchen, Ethernet connections, laundry facilities and playgrounds.
Bresciani said the University plans to tear down Odum Village in eight to 10 years. The University plans to match the number of existing buildings with new ones, but it hopes to build more.
"We believe there is a substantial unmet need for people needing affordable housing," Bresciani said.
A Shifting University Landscape
One thing all these projects have in common is the promise of orange fencing, closed sidewalks and construction noise -- sights already familiar to South Campus.
Wu said every construction project has a safety plan designed specifically for it by a committee made up of public safety, grounds department and disability advisory committee representatives.
Wu said the Facilities Planning Department is trying to keep the campus informed about changes. Its Web site will soon have a map that shows every planned renovation and construction project on campus and the dates they will be worked on.
"People go where they want to go. Part of it is training people to accept the inconveniences," Wu said. "And we have a lot of construction and it's changing, so you're going to have a shifting landscape for a long time."
The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.
