Art annex almost ready
Brandon Hollingsworth
Issue date: 9/6/07 Section: News
For years, space constraints have been a problem for art students and faculty at JSU.
Hammond Hall was quickly outgrown, forcing some classes into a former house on the edge of campus. After a while, holding classes in a building not designed for such use raised safety concerns. Scheduling was driven by what classrooms were available and when.
That era of art department history is coming to a close.
The Gladys M. Carlisle Applied Arts Building is scheduled to open on Saturday, Sept. 15. When it does, the Carlisle annex will provide long-sought and much needed space for the department, its students and its faculty.
Brand-new facilities will house drawing, design, ceramics and photography classes. More room means less cramped quarters.
Professors will receive new office space. State-of-the-art classrooms and workspaces will give students better tools and conditions under which to create.
Though the fall semester began on Aug. 29, the building isn't quite ready for occupation.
So far, students and faculty have juggled their schedules and daily routines as they held classes in temporary quarters at Hammond Hall and the old art annex near Paul Snow Stadium.
The transition should be a smooth one, said department head Dr. Charles Groover.
Drawing tables, desks, kilns and specialized tools are already in place inside the building, making the move less a process of physically moving and more a process of getting used to a new work environment.
"If all goes as planned, [students] should just go to the new building on September 15th, and the classes are all ready to teach in," Groover said.
The opening date for the Carlisle annex has been pushed back several times. Rumors of structural problems, like failure to properly seal the concrete, were unfounded, Groover said. There were a few cracks in the concrete floors, but those flaws have since been repaired.
"[The contractors] went back and refinished that," Groover said. "The floors are well finished now."
Groover said the delay has more to do with smaller items, such as finishing touches on the parking lot and pieces of equipment not yet installed.
On the inside, the annex features facilities designed to keep students and professors busy for some time to come.
Among services the building will offer are laboratories for digital and film photography, two-dimensional design space and large, open classrooms for drawing.
While the new annex was under consideration for several years, it was a visit from a National Association of Schools of Art and Design group that helped swing opinion in favor of constructing the new building sooner rather than later.
"In their last visit, we had some safety issues in that old building - which we knew about - that we had to address, so we addressed it by building a new building," Groover said.
As far as Hammond Hall goes, the art department's headquarters will still be there, Groover said, along with the art gallery and classroom space for art history, graphic design and other courses.
Looking into the future, Groover said the Carlisle annex will be around for a long time.
The university's master plan calls for the Department of Music to move into a new facility, allowing the art department to move into Mason Hall, which will be remodeled to serve the department's needs.
Brandon Hollingsworth is the News Editor of The Chanticleer. He can be reached at (256) 782-4704 or at chantynews@gmail.com.
Hammond Hall was quickly outgrown, forcing some classes into a former house on the edge of campus. After a while, holding classes in a building not designed for such use raised safety concerns. Scheduling was driven by what classrooms were available and when.
That era of art department history is coming to a close.
The Gladys M. Carlisle Applied Arts Building is scheduled to open on Saturday, Sept. 15. When it does, the Carlisle annex will provide long-sought and much needed space for the department, its students and its faculty.
Brand-new facilities will house drawing, design, ceramics and photography classes. More room means less cramped quarters.
Professors will receive new office space. State-of-the-art classrooms and workspaces will give students better tools and conditions under which to create.
Though the fall semester began on Aug. 29, the building isn't quite ready for occupation.
So far, students and faculty have juggled their schedules and daily routines as they held classes in temporary quarters at Hammond Hall and the old art annex near Paul Snow Stadium.
The transition should be a smooth one, said department head Dr. Charles Groover.
Drawing tables, desks, kilns and specialized tools are already in place inside the building, making the move less a process of physically moving and more a process of getting used to a new work environment.
"If all goes as planned, [students] should just go to the new building on September 15th, and the classes are all ready to teach in," Groover said.
The opening date for the Carlisle annex has been pushed back several times. Rumors of structural problems, like failure to properly seal the concrete, were unfounded, Groover said. There were a few cracks in the concrete floors, but those flaws have since been repaired.
"[The contractors] went back and refinished that," Groover said. "The floors are well finished now."
Groover said the delay has more to do with smaller items, such as finishing touches on the parking lot and pieces of equipment not yet installed.
On the inside, the annex features facilities designed to keep students and professors busy for some time to come.
Among services the building will offer are laboratories for digital and film photography, two-dimensional design space and large, open classrooms for drawing.
While the new annex was under consideration for several years, it was a visit from a National Association of Schools of Art and Design group that helped swing opinion in favor of constructing the new building sooner rather than later.
"In their last visit, we had some safety issues in that old building - which we knew about - that we had to address, so we addressed it by building a new building," Groover said.
As far as Hammond Hall goes, the art department's headquarters will still be there, Groover said, along with the art gallery and classroom space for art history, graphic design and other courses.
Looking into the future, Groover said the Carlisle annex will be around for a long time.
The university's master plan calls for the Department of Music to move into a new facility, allowing the art department to move into Mason Hall, which will be remodeled to serve the department's needs.
Brandon Hollingsworth is the News Editor of The Chanticleer. He can be reached at (256) 782-4704 or at chantynews@gmail.com.
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