Union Theological Seminary & Presbyterian School of Christian Education
3401 Brook Road
Richmond, VA 23227
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Glenn Birch
Phone: 804.278.4306
FAX: 804.355.5648
E-mail: gbirch@union-psce.edu
Early Center Construction Nearing End
Richmond, VA — March 18, 2008 — Construction of the Allen and Jeannette Early Center for Christian Education and Worship has moved into its closing weeks.
As a visible sign of progress, workers last week dismantled the construction fence that has surrounded the project since the fall of 2006. They also removed a portion of the fence students had colorfully painted with quotes from the Old and New Testaments written in ancient Hebrew and Greek.
The project represents an extreme makeover of the 1897 former library. The building is being given new life as an academic and worship center at the seminary.
In its new configuration, the building is named for Jeannette Early, a 1937 graduate of the Assembly's Training School, and her late husband, Allen. Mrs. Early gave a $2.5 million gift toward the renovation. It is the largest gift ever received from an individual in the seminary's history.
The most dramatic aspect of the renovation was the removal of the library stacks to open up a 38-foot tall chapel. Six tiers of the library stacks were removed to make way for the Julian and Robert Lake Chapel. The top two floors were removed entirely. The flexible space can be set for worship in a variety of styles and seating configurations, recognizing changing worship patterns in the churches students are graduating to serve.
At the other end of the building, the historic architectural details of the library reading room have been restored in the William McIlwaine and Alice Jones Thompson Conference and Meeting Room. Framed by a circle of attractive iron columns and a skylight overhead, the large, technologically-equipped room will be an asset for large classes, lectures, continuing education workshops, and meetings.
Faculty offices and six other classrooms have been designed in the building's three floors. The classrooms are designed to utilize advanced technology for teaching and are equipped for video conferencing with the Charlotte campus, local congregations, and other locations.
All offices and classrooms will be served by a wireless Internet connection; there are motorized projection screens in the larger classrooms; and cameras, projectors, lighting, and sound will be remotely controlled.
The building is fully handicapped accessible. To make way for the new design, roughly 443 cubic yards of masonry and concrete and nearly 29 tons of steel were removed and recycled.
Hourigan Construction of Richmond, Virginia, is the general contractor for the Early Center project. Glave and Holmes Associates of Richmond, which designed the award-winning William Smith Morton Library on the Union-PSCE campus, was the architectural firm.
There were more than 100 construction workers at the project's peak. As many as 40 local contracting companies worked on portions of the project, according to Brad Hulse, project manager for Hourigan Construction. Approximately 52 tons of structural steel was used in the Early Center project.
Brazilian slate tile adds a distinctive look to the floor in the chapel and in the Anne Thompson Rose and Ben Lacy Rose Reception Hall. The attractive reception hall is located in the space that was formerly devoted to library circulation.
In the chapel, giant side doors can be opened to gain additional seating in two adjacent classrooms. The doors connecting the chapel and the classrooms were built on-site. They weigh nearly 1,500 pounds each.
The liturgical furnishings in the Lake Chapel were designed by project architect Lothar Pausewang and are being built by a craftsman in Germany.
Construction is expected to be completed in early April. Walk-through tours and a reception are planned for the Early Center during the Sprunt Lectures, May 5-7, and following the Inauguration of Brian Blount as seminary president on May 7.
Over the summer, furniture will be installed and faculty will be trained in using the building's technological features. Full use of the Early Center is expected to begin with the start of the Fall term in September.
