Campus to celebrate dorm renovations
Students scheduled to return to Durand House next quarter; Roble upgrade aimed to conserve unique architectural features
During the Durand House renovation, workers discovered this mid-century photo of an unidentified woman.
Two historic campus buildings, each dating from the early 20th century, will celebrate the completion of large-scale renovations in the coming weeks.
Open houses are scheduled for 3-5 p.m. Dec. 13 at Durand House, which got a $3 million makeover, and for 3-5 p.m. Jan. 8 at Roble Hall, which has undergone a $17 million overhaul.
Durand HouseSituated at 634 Mayfield Ave., Durand was built in 1911 to house the Alpha Omicron Pi sorority. After the university banned sororities in 1944, the building was turned into a residence hall for female students and named after Charlotte Kneen Durand, the wife of engineering Professor William Durand. (The ban was lifted in 1977, but sororities were not permitted to apply for campus housing for another two decades.)
The residence eventually housed both men and women. Following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, the building closed for a year while undergoing structural repairs. Its current renovation is part of the ongoing Student Housing Capital Improvement Plan, which began in 1992.
"After a much-needed renovation, Durand should once again become an appealing option to upperclass students seeking the close-knit community offered by a small Row house," said Rodger Whitney, executive director of Student Housing and chief housing officer.
The renovations include seismic upgrades, ADA-compliant visitor access, energy-conservation measures, door-access control and wireless computing. Other highlights include a new kitchen and remodeled bathrooms, as well as new lighting, finishes and furniture. A redundant interior service stairway was removed and two rear outbuildings demolished. The building was raised three inches to address settling that had occurred since its original construction.
The house will re-open at the start of winter quarter. New residents will include students returning from Overseas Studies programs, as well as student staff and former residents who have been temporarily living in other houses during autumn quarter.
Roble HallLocated at 374 Santa Teresa St., Roble Hall is the university's oldest continuously operating student residence hall. It first opened its doors in 1918 as a women's residence hall. Roble, which takes its name from the Spanish word for the valley oak trees dotting campus, shares its unusual hollow clay tile exterior construction with Hoover House, the campus home of President Herbert Hoover and the official residence of university President John Hennessy.
The residence hall's renovation also is part of the ongoing Student Housing Capital Improvement Plan. "We have tried to highlight and conserve Roble's original and unique interior and exterior architectural features while updating the infrastructure and living spaces to 21st-century standards," Whitney said.
The renovation features enhanced seismic retrofitting (including 18,000 pounds of steel ties between the B and C wings), infrastructure upgrades, door-access control and wireless computing. Living spaces on each floor are ADA compliant. Bathrooms, kitchenettes and the resident fellow apartment have been completely remodeled, and the building now features new lighting, finishes and furniture throughout, with reconfigured common spaces.