Natasha Aliabadi / Roundup
The Center for the Sciences is scheduled to finish construction June 30, according to Andrew Ramsay, one of two deputy directors in charge of the project.
Swinerton Management and Consulting is employed by Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) and is the company that oversees all the construction projects done on Pierce College’s campus.
According to Ramsay they “manage and facilitate the process.” The company does not design or do construction for any project.
The Center for the Sciences has been under construction since 2007 and plans to open for students at the start of Fall 2010; but the building will be open for staff to occupy starting August 2.
The Center was budgeted at more than $57 million, with the money coming from Measure J and Proposition A/AA
The Center will house departments of physics, chemistry, life sciences, nursing, veterinary technology, planetary sciences and geology.
It will also feature faculty offices and lecture halls for various uses.
“It is not a simple building. It has state-of-the-art technology,” said Ramsay. He described the process as challenging since the building is bigger and more complicated than other projects.
Although students are not involved in the project, certain professors are needed to “approve the design documents.”
Swinerton Management continuously meets and works with the user group, like the task force of professors.
“The building will have the latest in technology and safety features, including a teaching planetarium. Each room will be equipped with state of the art audiovisual and computer equipment,” said Isidore Goodman, the chair of the chemistry department.
According to Goodman, instructors will be using a touch panel, which will allow them to easily switch between computer presentations, Internet access, DVDs and much more.
Swinerton Management and Consulting is also currently supervising many other projects on campus, such as construction on the Mall and the Child Development Center.
According to Ramsay, the Mall is scheduled to be completed by the end of this summer.
“Pierce’s campus will change dramatically,” said Ramsay.
In addition to the building for the Center of the Sciences, the landscape surrounding the building will also be somewhat of a teaching tool; it is designed for “climate appropriate plants.”
The campus already boasts a Botanical Garden, located in the center of campus, which has been used as a teaching tool as well.
A building fire broke out in a storage closet in the Center for the Sciences on March 17, but only minor damage was reported, according to Sheriff Team Leader Ron Nohles. The Los Angeles Fire Department said the fire was a result of a faculty members battery charger.
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A courtyard view of the Center for the Sciences on the corner of Mason Avenue and Olympic Drive. (David Schub / Roundup)
