Nov. 24, 2006 — The University of the Virgin Island's St. Croix campus will soon have more room for students and large assemblies. The Northwest Wing Expansion Project, which should be finished by early December, will add a Great Hall and an Annex to the campus' northwest wing.
According to Nereida Washington, associate campus administrator for operations, the addition will be "important when we house conferences or new student orientation meetings because we'd be able to accommodate more people."
When finished, the 4,000-square-foot Great Hall and 2,000-square-foot Annex can be divided into two or three rooms or expanded into one large room through the use of movable partitions.
Renee D'Adamo, the project's architect, said UVI's desire to maximize its space made her choose movable partitions. When the partitions are closed, according to D'Adamo, there should be no sound traveling between the rooms.
According to Washington, the Great Hall will be able to hold up to 250 people, whereas other campus buildings can only hold about 70 people.
Both D'Adamo and contractor Gustav James, owner of Systems Engineering, called the project a typical institutional building. James said construction, which began in January, has gone according to schedule.
D'Adamo explained their goal was to increase capacity without straying from the design already in place within the university. Having previously worked with Ivan Diaz, who designed the dorms and ancillary buildings on the campus, D'Adamo was already familiar with the buildings' design.
James said his company bid on the project because he liked being a part of any project enhancing the university. "We try harder to get those projects," James said, "and we may even lower our prices to do so."
Washington said the buildings would house classrooms and offices, adding to the faculty offices and computer labs already in use in other parts of the wing.
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