2008 Woodie Awards
Science center receives final beam during 'topping out'
Christopher Barrett
Issue date: 11/15/07 Section: Campus
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11/15/07 - The university celebrated another step in the completion of the Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences yesterday with a traditional "topping out" ceremony.
In front of a crowd of dignitaries that included the governor, lieutenant governor, commissioner of higher education and others, a crane hoisted the final steel girder to complete the frame of the building that will house classrooms and labs for the College of the Environment and Life Sciences. High above the crowd, Gilbane workers Peter Gibbs and Mike Silveira secured the beam, but not before officials hailed the project.
"This is a symbol of investment," URI President Robert L. Carothers said from a patio overlooking the construction site. "I was thinking this morning how important investment is and how important it is to America."
Competing with the sounds of construction, Carothers said that as the country seeks to increase its scientific knowledge, colleges are becoming increasingly important to today's economy. Carothers and other administrators have touted the $60-million, 140,000-square-foot building as a boon to the economy and the state's education.
As one of the largest academic building projects in the school's history, the university pulled out all the stops for the ceremony.
Officials brought in tables of food and urged passersby affiliated with the university to sign the white-painted beam topped with a tree. Administrators explained that even though the building will be composed of mostly steel and glass, the tree represented an earlier era when buildings were primarily built of wood.
And just as construction changed, so has the world of science. CBLS - expected to open in 2009 - will feature high-tech classrooms, areas that support DNA sequencing, incubator space and a two-story, 300-seat auditorium.
"This university needs to be a driver if you will, in the sense it needs to be driving our math and sciences," Republican Gov. Donald Carcieri said. "That's the future for our state. That's the future for our nation."
In front of a crowd of dignitaries that included the governor, lieutenant governor, commissioner of higher education and others, a crane hoisted the final steel girder to complete the frame of the building that will house classrooms and labs for the College of the Environment and Life Sciences. High above the crowd, Gilbane workers Peter Gibbs and Mike Silveira secured the beam, but not before officials hailed the project.
"This is a symbol of investment," URI President Robert L. Carothers said from a patio overlooking the construction site. "I was thinking this morning how important investment is and how important it is to America."
Competing with the sounds of construction, Carothers said that as the country seeks to increase its scientific knowledge, colleges are becoming increasingly important to today's economy. Carothers and other administrators have touted the $60-million, 140,000-square-foot building as a boon to the economy and the state's education.
As one of the largest academic building projects in the school's history, the university pulled out all the stops for the ceremony.
Officials brought in tables of food and urged passersby affiliated with the university to sign the white-painted beam topped with a tree. Administrators explained that even though the building will be composed of mostly steel and glass, the tree represented an earlier era when buildings were primarily built of wood.
And just as construction changed, so has the world of science. CBLS - expected to open in 2009 - will feature high-tech classrooms, areas that support DNA sequencing, incubator space and a two-story, 300-seat auditorium.
"This university needs to be a driver if you will, in the sense it needs to be driving our math and sciences," Republican Gov. Donald Carcieri said. "That's the future for our state. That's the future for our nation."