PARESKY COMMONS WORK UPDATE: DEMOLITION

Eight weeks into this 15-month campaign, we continue with preliminaries. Demolition remains the focus, along with an assessment of problems only demolition could reveal, plus protection of what is to stay and be restored. In addition, the first elements of the finished project are underway.

To document what’s up, we’ve added seven new photographs to the Photo Gallery. The first photo of the building exterior orients you. Second, protection of a first-floor dining hall, in preparation for opening the ceiling. Third, the nasty, heavy work of demolition. In the gutted basement kitchen, a bobcat hammers away around a column. The floor is being removed in order to install a much larger footing for one of the structural columns, as well as to test the subsoil and install new drains. Fourth, an image of what was the Ryley Room – sans finishes, sans floor – with the newly created doorway for the exterior entrance that will eventually open onto the sunken terrace on the building’s west side. For the present, this is the exit for demolition debris.

Fifth, the second-floor servery, stripped to structure. This was essential, given the massive amount of new ductwork and plumbing to be installed. Gutting to structure had the collateral benefit of revealing a long-standing leak in the south exterior wall. Corrective measures are on the to-do list. Sixth, back to the basement for the first new work accomplished: sub-floor drain lines. The photograph shows the piping being backfilled in preparation for laying a new floor.

Seventh, outside: the demolition of the 1980 loading dock and stair tower, which is to be replaced by an improved loading dock, plus a trash and recycling area, and a larger freight elevator.

PA COMMUNITY EMBRACES TEMPORARY DINING HALL

The decommissioned Sumner Smith Rink has found new life as a temporary dining facility for the PA community while Commons undergoes renovation.  The rink was transformed into a pleasant dining hall with work begun last summer. On January 2, the rink was open to serve its first meal to students returning from the Christmas break.

Dubbed “UnCommons” by the students, the building seats about 600 in a single room. Though the atmosphere is different from that of Commons, which consists of four separate dining halls, students and faculty alike have praised the facility for both its ambiance and the quality of its food service.

“The food quality, presentation, and overall atmosphere have more than exceeded expectations,” read an editorial in the January 11 issue of the Phillipian. “Overall, students, faculty, and the dining staff alike are pleased with UnCommons….”

Other students have echoed those sentiments, complimenting not only the food quality but the “sense of togetherness” fostered by the layout of the tables in the single-room dining hall.

In addition to serving a menu similar to that which was served at Commons, UnCommons has brought in some notable and appreciated additions, including pasta and protein “sizzle” stations, paninis at lunch, convenient pre-made wrap sandwiches, and a self-serve deli for those in need of lunch on the run.

Although pleased with the overall transition to UnCommons, food services personnel have been actively seeking suggestions for making further improvements to the facility’s operation by encouraging submissions to a “Fishing for Feedback” bulletin board that gives diners the opportunity to post comments, questions, and complaints. Submissions receive a response from the director of food services the next day and have resulted in several operational improvements since the hall’s opening.

For those students who don’t have time for the extra two-minute walk to UnCommons, another temporary dining solution has been provided— a 20-foot custom food-service van dubbed “The Ryley Roller.” The van is parked daily near the Elson Art Center and provides students with a convenient place to grab a free light breakfast or mid-afternoon snack.

In the months ahead, UnCommons will host many celebrations, activities, and events formerly held in Commons dining halls, Ropes Salon, and the Rose and Blue rooms. Although its use after Commons reopens in 2009 has not been specified, the revitalized facility will continue to be tapped for student, faculty, staff, and alumni gatherings of many types and sizes.

COMMONS TO BE NAMED TO HONOR DONOR

When Commons reopens in spring 2009, it will be named in honor of the donor whose $10 million lead gift made it possible for the Board of Trustees to launch this much-needed project. David S. Paresky ’56, with his wife, Linda, made the gift in 2004, in anticipation of his 50th Reunion in 2006. Initially an anonymous gift and unrestricted, the board designated it for the Commons project and decided to name the building accordingly.

Though reluctant to step into the spotlight, Paresky agreed to reveal his identity in hopes of inspiring others to support future generations of Andover students. The Commons gift adds to previous gifts David and Linda Paresky have made, beginning with annual gifts to the Andover Fund. In 1978, the David S. Paresky Scholarship was created and the Pareskys have added to it regularly over the years—and have made further contributions to other scholarship endowments, as well.

“Our gift is really a tribute to my parents, who were living examples to me of non sibi,” said David Paresky, in an interview two years ago. “As do many parents, my parents worked and often struggled to provide a better life and opportunities for their children.”

UNCOMMONS SPORTS NEW MURAL

Maine artist Wade Zahares has brought color, excitement, and a view to Uncommons with his lively mural that looks from behind an imaginary student’s desk to campus landmarks and the world beyond. He calls his piece “Beyond the Blue,” because it propels the viewer to look beyond the confines of Andover to the wider world, and the future. (Read more…)

HISTORIC COMMONS UNDERGOES MAJOR RENOVATION

Fifteen-month-long project will preserve historical features
while enhancing and modernizing the building’s dining facilities

With the departure of Phillips Academy students this Friday for winter vacation, Andover’s venerable dining hall will be shuttered for more than a year as it undergoes what Head of School Barbara Landis Chase has called “a transformation.”

Among the main goals of the ambitious $30-million project, which was approved by the Board of Trustees last January, are:

• Enhance and diversify the Commons dining experience to better support its function as the primary gathering place for the Andover community.
• Expand and transform student social space in Commons, and create new outdoor social spaces around Commons.
• Replace the building’s kitchen and serveries in order to upgrade menu variety and quality.
• Replace systems and infrastructure and make Commons fully handicapped accessible.
• Create an environmentally responsible building that meets LEED certification requirements.
• Retain and restore the historic interiors that make Commons such a compelling and memorable environment.

Some of the specific improvements to be completed as part of the project include the creation of centralized food preparation and service areas on both floors that will feature multiple serving stations and, on the first floor, a massive hearth oven; an extended-hours café; a refurbished and expanded Ryley Room (the student snack and leisure area); new terraces and seating areas in front of Commons and along its west side, and a sunken terrace outside the Ryley Room; new lighting and other visual enhancements to upgrade the entire dining experience; and wireless Internet access throughout. The result, as Chase explains in the Winter 2008 issue of the Bulletin, will be a facility that is more than just a dining hall. It will be a true center of community social interaction.

Equally important is the project’s sensitivity to the building’s historical significance. The plans developed by Schwartz/Silver Architects of Boston call for the preservation of the historic and aesthetic assets of this 1930 landmark, such as the limestone staircases, Georgian Style paneling, and chandeliers – all designed by campus architect Charles Adams Platt—and the Barry Faulkner murals.

Environmental concerns are also a driving force in the remaking of Commons, with decisions being made to earn LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification through the nonprofit U.S. Green Building Council. LEED ratings provide an internationally recognized system for certifying high-performance green interiors that are healthy, and productive work places.

The completed project, Chase says will “turn that beloved facility into a gracious and lively center for both students and faculty—a place to greet and meet classmates, colleagues, and friends, to collaborate on projects, to socialize and have special events. With the changes we are making, Commons will become a true community center where students and faculty can gather at all hours of the day and evening for both work and play.”

Until that day, projected for the spring of 2009, the decommissioned Sumner Smith Rink, located south of the gym, will serve as the Academy’s interim dining hall. Renovations of Smith Rink (which students have nicknamed “UnCommons”) began last summer and include two large modular kitchens and seating for nearly 600. The inclusion of special lighting fixtures and AV capabilities also make the space suitable for special events.

A custom mobile food van, the “Ryley Roller,” will park across from the Andover Inn to provide a light breakfast for students on the go, as well as late afternoon and evening snacks. In an effort to afford students addition social meeting space while Commons is closed, the Academy has refurnished two additional spaces on campus—the Underwood Room and the Adrian C. Israel Student Lounge in George Washington Hall.

Funding for Commons renovations began with a $10 million lead gift from David S. Paresky ’56 and his wife, Linda, in honor of Paresky’s 50th Reunion. An additional $4 million has been raised to date, including a gift of $2 million from Charter Trustee Thomas C. Israel ’62 and an anonymous parent pledge of $1 million.

Architects for both the Commons renovation and the revamping of the ice rink for UnCommons are Schwartz/Silver Architects Inc. of Boston. Ricca Newmark Design has developed and will oversee redesign of the food preparation and service areas. (Click here to view a gallery of architectural renderings and drawings of Commons.)