New Tower
This week the exterior of the new tower will finally be complete—and it looks great! The north façade, along University Avenue, was finished last week, and the east side, along Mills Street, has only a few areas that remain to be done. Curbs and gutters along University Avenue and Mills Streets have been installed and landscaping begins this week.
Inside the tower a lot has been completed as well. Demonstration benches in the sub-basement lecture rooms are being finished this week. The sub-basement and basement are slated for installation of decorative wood and glass panels and final cleaning this week. In less than a month we can begin moving into the new tower!
Moving Day Is a Month Away (and it’s complicated)
In early June, once the new tower is turned over to us, we can begin moving in. But we also need to move out of the basement, first, and second floors of Daniels quickly so that the construction team can begin renovation of those floors. Delays now might result in delayed re-occupancy of Daniels in summer 2022.
Moving is a complicated process that involves a lot of work by a lot of people, especially lab directors and lab techs in our instructional program. Many others whose offices are in Daniels B, 1, and 2, or who will have new offices in the tower have also contributed. Here is a summary, first in words, then in a diagram, of the major facilities we need to move within a roughly four-week period:
Facility From To
Analytical chemistry labs move permanently Med. Sci. Center Eighth floor tower
Chemistry demo lab moves permanently Basement Daniels Sub-basement tower
Organic chemistry labs move permanently Basement Daniels Fifth and sixth floors tower
General chemistry labs (half) move temporarily First floor Daniels Seventh floor tower
General chemistry labs (half) move temporarily Second floor Daniels Med. Sci. Center
Undergraduate office moves temporarily First floor Daniels Sixth floor tower
Advanced analytical lab moves temporarily Second floor Daniels Basement Mathews
Once Daniels has been renovated, the facilities that move temporarily this year will move into new space in the renovated space. Advanced analytical and physical chemistry labs will also move to their final, new homes in the tower sixth floor. Time will tell, but if the efforts already put in our staff are any measure, moving should be a great success.
Mathews Wing Remains Closed
The Mathews wing is still a construction zone as the construction team addresses the problem of the collapsed exhaust duct. As soon as we know when the building can be safely occupied, an email bulletin will be sent.
Daniels Three-day Exhaust Interruptions: Tuesday, 24 May – Thursday, 15 July
The final step in the heart-lung transplant is to switch all fume hoods in the Daniels wing to the new exhaust fans in the tower. This construction activity requires a rolling series of 3-day fume hood shutdowns, which will occur on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of each week.
A schedule and map showing which labs are affected each week is here: https://go.wisc.edu/ml1dm9. Because of the way the fume hoods are connected to the existing exhaust system, the schedule cannot align nicely with research groups or with floors in the building, so it is essential that everyone consult the schedule to find out when your lab must shut down. Labs need to be ready by 6:00 am on Tue morning for the fume hood shutdown in each area.
It is extremely important that you adhere to the shutdown schedule and shutdown protocol because construction workers will be exposed to open exhaust ducts and your fume hood cannot protect you or your lab mates during the period that it is disconnected from the exhaust fans.
Please follow these directions for preparing your lab:
- Ensure that there are no active experiments.
- Close and cap all chemical containers.
- It is not necessary to turn off or cover equipment.
- Construction workers will not need to work in your laboratory; all construction work will occur on floor 9 mezzanine.
- Staff from UW Safety Department and from the chemistry facilities committee will spot-check preparations and compliance.
It will not be necessary to vacate the Daniels building during these shutdowns. The supply of fresh, tempered air will not be affected, and most of the building’s exhaust systems will be operating at any given time. The labs where the fume hoods are shut down should not be used, but research may continue in labs where fume hoods are not shut down. Student and faculty offices are essentially unaffected (regardless of specific detail shown on the maps) and may continue to be used.
The Shain and Mathews wings will not be affected by this shutdown. In the Daniels wing, only exhaust from the designated labs will be shut down. Other utilities (electrical service, process cooling water, nitrogen) will operate normally.
Graphic Schedule of Upcoming Events
Many different construction activities are simultaneously affecting our building complex. We summarize them graphically below.
We thank Jim Maynard for the photos used in this newsletter issue.
This information is up to date as of Monday morning. Email bulletins will be provided as needed.
John Moore and Bob McMahon