A STUDENT-CONSTRUCTED SCIENCE BUILDING ROBERT P. LUDLUM Blackburn College, Carlinville, Illinois
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not remarkable for a college to complete and dedicate a science building. The F. W. Olin Science Building a t Blackburn College, however, is remarkable-indeed, unique-in that it was entirely eonstrueted by students of the college. I t was dedicated on February 13, the one-hundredth anniversary of the granting of its charter to Blackburn College. The actual cost of materials and equipment was $235,000 (contributed by the Olin Foundation, Inc.). The value of the completed structure is $425,000. Constructed of concrete block, with brick facing, the building is shaped like a large inverted T, with a projection from the stem of the T to accommodate a 135seat lecture room. It is 149 feet long across the bar of the T and has about 12,000 square feet of floor space. The building contains five laboratories, each with its own supply room and a general supply room serving all the laboratories, three faculty offices, and a balance room. Most of the building is one story high, but a small central section is two stories high. The construction consists of masonry walls and partitions on a poured conerete foundation. The roof surface of wood planking, insulated and covered with asbestos cement shingles, is supported on laminated wood girders spaced 8 feet apart. The interior walls are of lightweight insulating concrete block. Exterior walls are of concrete block faced with red brick, and have prismatic glass block panels combined with the window units to give glareless uniform daylighting. PREFABRICATION SIMPLIFIED CONSTRUCTION
The architects sought to avoid certain types of work, such as considerable amounts of steel work involving riveting or welding or heavy members, so as to simplify the work for the students. Laminated roof girders were used in part because they were suitable to installation by students. Furthermore, they provide economical, long clear spans with no interior columns and allow flexibility in locating partitions. Prefabricated concrete floor slabs were used for the second floor construction and for some portions of the roof structure. The architects chose completely fabricated steel frames for openings for steel windows
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and for glass block panels. There is no plaster in the building. A system of classroom lighting, assembled on a prefabricated framework, eliminated the need for conventional wiring beyond a few outlets per room. The lighting system, which includes suspended baffles to eliminate direct view of the lamps, also eliminated the need for finished ceiling, other than the roof coostruetion. The baffles, incidentally, also provided acoustical correction. Exposed overhead piping and electrical conduit were employed, partly for ease of installation and maintenance. The architects took advantage of the partial exposure of the pipes by color coding them, and the varicolored pipes lend a bright and cheerful air to the laboratories. Conventional services are available a t laboratory tables and adequate fume hoods are provided. ENTIRE CONSTRUCTION BY STUDENTS
The tutelage was provided by Howard M. Lemaster, a professional building superintendent. His task of supervision was bewildering. He had anywhere from 50 to 70 students working for him in the course of a day, hut the men kept going and coming. Their work schedules were built around their classroom schedules, so students generally worked only two or three hours at, a time, for a total of only 15 hours per week. Mr. Lemaster would start the morning with 20 men and finish the day with perhaps 30, but the crew a t noon rarely contained anyone who had been present a t opening time. This difficulty was overcome by having each man on a job explain the day's work to his successor. Mr. Lemaster filled any gaps in the instruction. The building was under construction from September, 1953, until its dedication on February 13, 1957. (No work was done in the summer vacation nor in the Christmas and spring recesses.) Students contributed 78,468'12 hours of labor. There were few accidents on the job, and no serious ones. About 400 different students worked on the building a t one time or another. They poured thousands of yards of concrete, laid 55,000 bricks, laid even more concrete blocks, and installed all the wiring, plumbing, and the heating system. In brief, it is a building built by students for students' use.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION
