Students returning to campus after Thanksgiving break may have noticed a new obstacle they had to maneuver on their way to classes - a fence around the DeBartolo Quad.
Construction of the fence began on Nov. 19, according to an e-mail the Office of the University Architect and Utilities Department sent to the student body. The new fence encloses the construction site for Stinson-Remick Hall, the planned state-of-the-art engineering building on campus.
Notre Dame is building Stinson-Remick Hall on the site formerly occupied by the University Club.
The University Club, founded in 1958, closed its doors earlier this year amid complaints from club members and employees who were unsure of the Club's future as it is forced to move off campus.
The new engineering building, set to open in 2010, will house a nano-technology research center, a new energy center, an undergraduate interdisciplinary learning center and a semiconductor processing and device fabrication clean room.
"This [new building] is just additional space for engineering. They will still continue to occupy the old buildings. It's not replacing anything, it's responding to additional needs we have," Executive Vice President John Affleck-Graves told The Observer in February.
Stinson-Remick Hall will also feature a $500,000 solar panel array and energy system donated by General Electric which undergraduates will be allowed to study to track the energy being generated.
The fence enclosing the construction will be in place throughout the building of the hall. The fence surrounding the utilities work area to the east of DeBartolo Hall and west of the Hesburgh Center is set to be taken down by March 15.
