Built in the mid-1960s, Merrill has been a campus icon for decades, but it currently contains outdated lecture halls, laboratories and classroom spaces. According to Director of Facilities Jim Brassford, “the teaching and research labs were designed based upon a model developed over 40 years ago and they no longer support current pedagogy.” Moreover, “the building systems infrastructure has exceeded its design life.” Not only is Merrill’s interior an eyesore, especially compared to is exterior, but it also may pose some serious safety hazards in the future if left untouched.
The recently launched $425 million capital campaign has a significant portion set aside to address these issues and renovate Merrill, as well as Frost Library and the social dorms.
Peter Foote ’09, a chemistry major, spends about 15 hours a week in the science building working in both faculty and student labs. “These labs need renovation,” Foote said. “They have the greatest effect on the quality of the science curriculum, and though conditions in Merrill could be worse, they are pretty unacceptable given the caliber of our department and college.” He expressed concern that some of his friends have trouble running experiments because the labs are not sterile enough, and even cited a problem that he encountered while working over the summer: “My thesis research was constantly stalled because the humidity was too high.” Foote echoed Brassford’s sentiments that the poor environmental control makes it difficult to conduct research.
Ben Mears ’11 has had experiences similar to Foote’s, noting, “The teaching labs could use some upgrades. The equipment we use is not always in working order.” Both students agreed that Merrill needs to be “brightened up” because the current atmosphere is “dark,” “dreary,” “cold” and “unfriendly.”
The College’s Director of Design & Construction, Tom Davies, admitted that Merrill is a trickier building to renovate than the residence halls that the College has been focusing on for the past several years in its Residential Master Plan. “Renovation will be a significant project involving considerable funding as well as disruption and relocation of programs,” he noted. However, none of the various authorities at Amherst have the answers to many of the questions that students are asking. The Merrill renovation is very much in the preliminary planning stages. As Brassford put it, “Architectural plans will be developed once a vision for the project has been clearly articulated and defined.” Under this plan, the new Merrill would be finished in approximately five years, according to Dean of Faculty Gregory Call. In an optimal time schedule, planning would take one year, architectural work one year, and construction two to three years. The length of the process will vary depending on what kind of renovation option is chosen.
Although administration and faculty have been discussing the science facilities for years, they still haven’t vocalized a specific plan of action for renovation. “We might work with one architectural firm and explore different options for renovation, expansion or replacement; or we might determine a plan and then invite several architects to submit design ideas,” said Call. He is personally leaning towards a “renovation with expansion,” which would involve renovating Merrill in its present location and then adding larger research facilities equipped to meet current needs. “We would build a new space, move classes and labs from the old space into the new space, and then renovate the old space,” he said. This option would allow for minimal disruption in terms of ongoing research and classes, unlike the “full replacement” plan, under which the science facilities would need to be relocated to other buildings on campus during Merrill’s demolition.
It is important that renovation addresses and resolves all of Merrill’s current problems. To ensure this, Call feels that teachers and students need to work together to decide exactly what kind of academic program the College wants to have. This decision, in turn, will help determine what type of building the new Merrill will be. “We want to increase the size of the faculty, so we’ll need more labs, research spaces and offices. We’ll also ask professors questions like, ‘Are the classrooms the right size?’ and ‘Is there a proper number of the different types of rooms?’ ”
The current committee responsible for Merrill’s reconstruction, which replaced a preliminary planning committee a year ago, contains one faculty member from each science department and will eventually include students, who will also express their opinions on what they need in a science building.
Mears, who spends a considerable amount of time in Merrill each week as both a prospective chemistry major and a supervisor in the Science Library, suggested that the building be made more “friendly” to students.
“For someone unfamiliar with Merrill, it can be difficult to find certain classrooms,” added Foote. “Also, though it is in better shape than the rest of Merrill, the Science Library receives a lot of foot traffic. During peak times, almost all of the desks are filled up, so it could certainly use more space. Finally, the Q-Center is currently is hidden away inside a small room on the second floor, and I think more people would utilize its great services if it was in a larger and more prominent location.” Merrill’s impending renovation comes at a time when the quality of many buildings on campus is being questioned. “There are many planning efforts that are underway now [besides Merrill], including Frost Library and the East Campus (replacement of the social dorms),” said Davies. Dean Call noted that health and safety are the most important factors that the administration takes into consideration when deciding what buildings need to be renovated, and thus Merrill and the social dorms receive top priority on that list. The issue of academic improvement, which runs a close second to safety, means that Frost is right behind the Merrill and social dorm renovations.
Ultimately, the Board of Trustees, which receives information from the planning committees, will make all of the final decisions about Merrill, including a building schedule and budget. But even with the present economic conditions, Call stated firmly, “We’re very committed to this project and seeing things done as promptly as we can. The Board is a long way from setting a budget, which is a huge financial commitment … Merrill is a huge priority for the College and we are trying to move ahead on planning for it.”
“What a beautiful building!” exclaimed a high school senior, transfixed with the boxy red brick structure wrapped in matching rust-colored ivy. But, as the prospective student’s suddenly-uncomfortable campus tour guide knew, its outer appearance is deceptive - Merrill Science Center is badly in need of renovation in order to be on par with the top-notch science research facilities at other colleges.
Built in the mid-1960s, Merrill was designed by the renowned architectural firm Campbell, Aldrich &Nulty, which counts Boston’s “pregnant building” (the First National Bank building in the Financial District which is now home to Bank of America offices) and City Hall among its notable accomplishments. It was always a science building, but currently contains outdated lecture halls, laboratories and classroom spaces. According to Director of Facilities Jim Brassford, “the teaching and research labs were designed based upon a model developed over 40 years ago and they no longer support current pedagogy.” Moreover, “the building systems infrastructure has exceeded its design life.” Not only is Merrill’s interior an eyesore; it also could pose some serious safety hazards in the future if left untouched.
Peter Foote ’09, a chemistry major, spends about 15 hours a week in the science building working in both faculty and student labs. “These labs need renovation,” Foote said. “They have the greatest effect on the quality of the science curriculum, and though conditions in Merrill could be worse, they are pretty unacceptable given the caliber of our department and college.” He expressed concern that some of his friends have trouble running experiments because the labs are not sterile enough and even cited a problem that he encountered while working over the summer: “My thesis research was constantly stalled because the humidity was too high.” Foote echoed Brassford’s sentiments that poor environmental control makes it difficult to conduct research. Ben Mears ’11 has had experiences similar to Foote’s, noting, “The teaching labs could use some upgrades. The equipment we use is not always in working order.” Both students agreed that Merrill needs to be “brightened up” because the current atmosphere is “dark,” “dreary,” “cold” and “unfriendly.”
The Director of Design & Construction, Tom Davies, admitted that Merrill is a trickier building to renovate than residence halls, which the College has focused on for the past several years through its Residential Master Plan. “Renovation will be a significant project involving considerable funding as well as disruption and relocation of programs,” he noted. However, none of the various authorities at Amherst has the answers to the questions that students are asking. Merrill renovation is still in its preliminary planning stages. As Brassford put it, “Architectural plans will be developed once a vision for the project has been clearly articulated and defined.” Under this plan, the new Merrill would be finished in approximately five years, according to Dean of Faculty Gregory Call. Optimally, planning would take one year, architectural work another year, and construction two to three years. The length will vary depending on what kind of renovation option is chosen.
Though administration and faculty have been discussing the science facilities for years, they still haven’t vocalized a specific plan for renovation. “We might work with one architectural firm and explore different options for renovation, expansion or replacement; or we might determine a plan and then invite several architects to submit design ideas,” Dean Call said. He personally is leaning towards a “renovation with expansion,” which would involve renovating Merrill in its present location and then adding larger research facilities equipped to meet current needs. “We would build a new space, move classes and labs from the old space into the new space, and then renovate the old space,” he said. This option would allow for minimal disruption in terms of ongoing research and classes, unlike the “full replacement”
plan, under which the science facilities would need to be relocated to other buildings on campus during Merrill’s demolition.
In order to make sure that renovation resolves all of Merrill’s current problems, Call mentioned that teachers and students need to work together to decide what kind of academic program the College wants to have, which will in turn determine what type of building the new Merrill will be. “We want to increase the size of the faculty, so we’ll need more labs, research spaces and offices. We’ll also ask professors questions like, ‘Are the classrooms the right size?’ and ‘Is there a proper number of the different types of rooms?’ ” The current committee responsible for Merrill’s reconstruction, which replaced a preliminary planning committee, contains one faculty member from each science department and will eventually include students. These students will express their opinions on what a science building needs. Mears, who spends a considerable amount of time in Merrill each week as both a prospective chemistry major and a supervisor in the Science Library, suggested that the building be made more “friendly” to students. “For someone unfamiliar with Merrill, it can be difficult to find certain classrooms,” Foote said. “Also, though it is in better shape than the rest of Merrill, the Science Library receives a lot of foot traffic. During peak times, almost all of the desks are filled up, so it could certainly use more space. Finally, the Q-Center currently is hidden away inside a small room on the second floor, and I think more people would utilize its great services if it was in a larger and more prominent location.” Foote added, “There is a severe shortage of hood space in the research labs, which makes it difficult for multiple students to work at the same time. More hood space would enhance our ability to have serious undergraduate research projects.” He also mentioned that much-needed updates to scientific equipment would greatly improve the quality of laboratory work.
Merrill’s impending renovation comes at a time when the quality of many buildings on campus is being heavily questioned. “There are many planning efforts that are underway now [besides Merrill], including Frost Library and the East Campus (replacement of social dorms),” said Davies. Dean Call noted that health and safety are the most important factors taken into consideration when deciding which buildings need to be renovated,
and thus Merrill and the social dorms receive top priority. The issue of academic improvement, a close second, puts Frost next.
Ultimately, the Board of Trustees receives information from the planning committees and will make the final decision about Merrill, including a building schedule and budget. Even given the present national economic conditions, Call stated firmly, “We’re very committed to this proj
ect and seeing things done as promptly as we can. The Board is a long way from setting a budget, which is a huge financial commitment…However, Merrill is a huge priority for the College and we are trying to move ahead on planning for it.”