The student media organization of California State University Northridge

Daily Sundial

The student media organization of California State University Northridge

Daily Sundial

The student media organization of California State University Northridge

Daily Sundial

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New science building, Live Oak Hall renovations in 2008

A new science building will be opened east of Lindley Avenue and south of the CSUN Botanical Gardens in Fall 2008.

Additionally, parts of Live Oak Hall, formerly Science Building 1, are scheduled to be renovated in 2008, according to Facilities Planning.

The first set of design ideas for the new science building will be reviewed in the coming weeks.

“The university and colleges (will) see what it looks like,” said Bill Fairchild, manager of capital projects for Facilities Planning.

According to Fairchild, the new science building will cover 90,000 square feet over four stories, with an estimated cost of construction at $36 million. Funding will come from an approved state bond measure.

“We just started to have meetings with (an) architect every few weeks to determine the design of the building,” said Jerry Stinner, dean of the College of Science and Mathematics.

“Of course, most of it, it will be for (the) biology department and it’s going to (hold) some math teaching areas as well,” he added.

The new building will feature large classrooms accommodating between 80 and 150 students, and the infrastructure of the technology of the science building will be completely updated.

“It’s going to be (a) state-of-the-art building,” said Kavoos Blourtchi, manager of academic resources for the College of Science and Mathematics. “Classrooms are going to be utilized with (the) latest technology to make it more friendly.”

The Mathematics Department will have lectures in the new building, and there will be some 40-seat classrooms for math courses, Blourtchi said.

According to Blourtchi, after construction is completed on the new building, the college plans to start a renovation of Live Oak Hall.

Blourtchi said that the Mathematics Department will move into the third floor of Live Oak Hall after the Biology Department leaves, and that the planned move is what will inspire the renovation of the building.

According to Fairchild, the design of the new building will likely be completed by Fall 2006, and construction will begin as soon as the design is finished.

The design phase began early this year. At first, Facilities Planning made a list of possible architects and construction companies and selected Cannon Design Co. and Hathaway-Dinwiddie Construction Co.

Live Oak Hall was built in 1961 and is one of the oldest buildings on campus.

Laboratories in the building have kept changing to keep up with the times, but the renovation will bring the whole building into the 21st century, Fairchild said.

The new structure will have a new exhibit, which will consist of dioramas of animals. The building will also feature upgraded classrooms and laboratories for research and instruction.

Aya Oikawa can be reached at aya.oikawa.73@csun.edu.

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