A pipe froze and burst in Rechnitz Hall on Feb. 8, “causing extensive water damage to the building,” according to Dr. Fred McKitrick, the Chair of the Department of Art & Design, who sent out an email on Feb. 9 to students of the art department informing them that the building will be closed until further notice.
McKitrick said in the email, “…Until the extent of damage is assessed and then premeditated, Rechnitz will be off limits….It’s too early to say how long that all will take…”
Scott Knauer, the DiMattio Gallery director, was able to remove the art pieces from the gallery to ensure nothing was damaged. He worked hard to make sure the artwork was safe and unaffected. “Fortunately, none of the artwork that was on display in the DiMattio Gallery was affected by the water leak…I moved artwork out of the gallery during the evening and morning hours,” he said.
He added that none of the artwork on the second floor was damaged either, and they are covered now while the repairs are getting done.
While classes are now back in session in the Rechnitz Hall, those classes that were affected by the flood were temporarily moved to different campus locations.
Professor Susan Meyer of the Art Department, whose class was affected by the closure said, “The Registrar’s Office did an amazing job of finding us spaces to hold our classes and the students have been troopers in terms of navigating working in classrooms rather than studios. The art studio set-up is pretty specific, including room to work with paints and charcoals, areas for still-life set-ups, special lighting, and critique areas…We have now landed mostly in the Sculpture and Ceramics studios and also in the Anthropology Lab which has a sink. The professors who oversee these areas, Kimberly Callas, Eileen Sackman, and Hillary Delprete, have been wonderful.”
She commented on the progress of the repairs, “…the crews have been working incredibly hard to get us back in as soon as possible. I’ve seen pictures and the progress is impressive.”
Steph Ambrozy from the Registrar’s office further elaborated on the process of finding classrooms for the classes affected by the building’s closure, saying it was “a little bit of a challenge.”
“Finding space during our most popular academic frames (example M/W 11:40am to 1:00pm) were even more challenging as our campus is really full on those days with limited classroom space. We used a lot of spaces that we don’t normally use for relocations…A lot of the Art classes in Rechnitz use Mac computers. The Information Technology department had to download Adobe software on our PC computers in order for those classes to continue with current projects and assignments.”
Christina Mehta, a junior Graphic Design major said, “I don’t have access to my usual workspaces for my assignments…because of all the commotion of getting our rooms rearranged, we have missed a lot of class time.”
Mehta explained how this has been affecting her outside of the classroom, as well as acknowledging how it affects her peers. “I work as a print lab assistant in Rechnitz Hall, so I unfortunately cannot work my regular job until the building reopens,” she said, “I’m a junior, but I’m sure all of the seniors have been affected, since they are preparing for the senior show at the end of the semester.”
She elaborated on the accommodations her professors have made.“While these repairs have been getting done, my class has been relocated to the 600s building. Due to missed days of class from this closure, we have had extended project deadlines, and some projects changed entirely,” she said.
Kara Sullivan, the Director of Building Services and Facilities Administration, was able to provide information on the timeline of repairs, and more specific details on the damages the building endured.
“The cracked water pipe caused damage in many areas on the first and second floors. Repairs included removal and replacement of insulation, ceiling tiles, sheetrock, wall base, and computers in the affected rooms and hallways on the northwest side of the second floor and the Di Mattio Gallery and adjacent classrooms and hallways on the first floor. These areas all needed to be painted,” she explained, “…A grid system was installed to secure insulation and to prevent damage of this type from occurring in the future,” she said.
The building reopened after classrooms were restored and inspection successfully completed. Students are now able to finish their semester as planned.
