The demolition of the old Jacobs Hall central wing and the construction of the new engineering building in its place are proceeding on schedule and within budget. Excitement and anticipation within the School are continuing to build, as well.
       When completed in December, the central structure will provide 75,000 square feet of state-of-the-art laboratory, classroom, study and office space. Attention will then turn to renovating the original and third wings of Jacobs Hall. The entire project should be complete in time for the fall semester of 2002.
       Keith Loiseau, the campus architect overseeing the project, explains that the goal of community building drove all design efforts. Classrooms will open onto the facility's stunning three-story atrium. The building's layout will encourage students and professors to interact between classes. Offices within departments that have long been spread out on the Vanderbilt campus will finally stand adjacent to one another. Inviting courtyard areas will also flank the new facility.
       "I'm most excited about how we will have been able to do all of this while reusing parts of the existing structures and keeping the School of Engineering in its key central location," declares Loiseau. "The new building and renovations will transform the environment of the School while encouraging work between engineering and other disciplines on campus."

Read about the groundbreaking ceremony for the new building