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Rise in Tornadoes, Floods Poses Risk to Colleges
What if the sort of extreme weather that has left the University of Iowa inundated in floodwaters is not a freak event? What if it is a sign of things to come? (Photograph by AP Images)
Art & Architecture Renovations Near Completion at Yale U.
Paul Rudolph's 1963 Brutalist icon is getting a makeover, plus an addition by Charles Gwathmey.
Guest Blogger: Anne Stephenson
Even the greenest construction project increases a college’s carbon footprint.
Other News
Land-Rich Universities Weigh New Options for Real-Estate Development
Universities are taking advantage of new ways to develop their holdings through corporate partnerships, a new report says.
U. of Iowa Begins Mucking Out and Assessing the Damage
The university's insurer spent the weekend starting to assess the damage to the auditorium and 19 other flooded buildings.
U. of Iowa Flooding Takes Costly Toll in Research and Equipment
Parking lots are under water, some roads leading to the campus are closed, and the campus utility infrastructure is damaged.
New campus buildings
Multimedia
A Green Building as a Billboard for Science
(A 2006 Chronicle video)
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About Buildings & Grounds
Buildings & Grounds is written by Scott Carlson (left) and Lawrence Biemiller (right). Scott Carlson writes about architecture, facilties, energy, and sustainability, among other topics. Lawrence Biemiller writes about architecture and facilities and contributes to Notes from Academe. What's happening on your campus? Let us know.
Mysteries of Pittsburgh: Carnegie Mellon U. Finds Missing Ceiling
Misplacing things is so easy—keys, wallet, theater ceiling. Remembering what you left where is a problem with no easy solution.
At Carnegie Mellon University, for instance, a leaded-glass ceiling was removed from the Kresge Theater in the College of Fine Arts building in a renovation about 35 years ago. It wasn’t thrown out, but its whereabouts were forgotten, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Now that the university is contemplating a new renovation of the theater, the current dean of the College of Fine Arts thought the ceiling might make a good centerpiece for renovation fund raising—especially because there were some hints that it might have been made by Louis Comfort Tiffany, the famous designer. So the dean, Hilary Robinson, began asking around.
Ross Garin, assistant head of the university’s music school, eventually found the ceiling in the basement of the College of Fine Arts. It was lying on red cloth, covered with straw, and obscured by later ductwork, and it was broken in places. So far there’s no evidence that it was a Tiffany product, but the university is considering putting it back where it came from anyway. The College of Fine Arts building, a Pittsburgh landmark that is one of higher education’s most charismatic buildings, was designed by the great Beaux Arts architect Henry Hornbostel.
The ceiling wasn’t the only thing missing from the theater, by the way. A stage curtain that depicted Roman monuments has also vanished, along with murals showing scenes from Greek dramas. The pipe organ is missing, too, although Mr. Garin found the motor that operated the bellows. The music school asks anyone with helpful information to get in touch.
Lawrence Biemiller | Wednesday May 7, 2008 | Permalink | Contact us
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