Simpson Hall

I've been working for an architectural firm in Montana for almost two years now and for quite awhile I only got to do the mundane like door and window details or stairs. Boring! I was prepared to do so straight out of school but when I took the job for the Army in New Jersey, I was placed in charge of entire projects within 6 months so it was frustrating to go from project manager to CAD jockey all over again. (Plus the pay cut was a real kick in the .....)

Anyway, eventually I started getting more and more involvement in my projects like the auditorium in the New Old Faithful Visitors Center (that's an oximoron...I know), the Park County Library in Cody, Wyoming, and Cobb Field, now Dehler Park, a minor league baseball stadium here in Billings.

Yesterday I got to travel down to Powell, Wyoming to do some Construction Administration on site at the Simpson Hall Expansion at Northwest College. Working with a project manager, I've been involved in the entire process from concept to construction. I was able to do the majority of the design and most of the architectural drawings. This is a two story addition to an existing residence hall that my firm did a couple years back. We wanted to make the new portion of the building seem "planned" so we carried out the context of the original building throughout the new building. We had some very difficult challenges to deal with including minimizing square footage and maximizing the spaces. We were actually able to squeeze in two additional suites over what we promised the client. It was tough. This building very similar in appearance to the original building, but completely different in plan, structure, and building systems. No copy and paste this time (except those pesky door, window, and stair details - thank goodness.)

Here's a few pictures from yesterday's site visit. We are not scheduled for completion until the end of summer of 2009. We've still got a long way to go.

Since this is an addition (about the same size as the original) there is no real front or back to the building. But if I had to pick, this would be the back of the building where the mechanical room and service entrance is. The white portions of the building will eventually be faced with a greenish EIFS (fake stucco).

If the previous picture was the back of the building, then this is the front. Its actually a secondary entrance to the building, the primary being on the original building. The two segments to the left are actually part of the original building and the sliver of white you see to the right of that is the secondary entrance at the connection corridor.

This is a portion of the interior "commons" area. Its just a really wide and open corridor, but I can't call it that or will get dinged by code issues. There will be furniture in the commons as well as floor openings from the first to second floor where students will be able to hang out. So it really is a lot more than just a hallway.

Anyway, it was a very good trip, even though I had to climb the flimsy ladder on the second picture and inspect the roof. Its not done yet so I'll be back up there at least one more time. (Yes, there is a roof access but its in the existing building and I'd have to find someone with a key and drag them around with me. I didn't overlook the roof access.)

When I got back to my desk after the trip there was an email stating that the "reduction in force" had been carried out and that everyone that was let go had been informed. I was instantly relieved, then realized that I wasn't around all day long and they'd have no way of letting me know if I was getting layed off so I panicked again. Don't worry, I'm still here. Whew!!! Man, its been a stressful last couple of weeks with that hanging over my head. Now I can get back to worrying about other things like having a baby, finishing my tests, and finding time to remodel my bathroom and fix up the kitchen for painting.