Quad construction disrupts students

Students returning to campus have had to adjust to major construction on the Keyser Quad and the Breezeway. Since June major portions of the quad have been fenced off. New detours and construction noise in the area have confused and inconvenienced some students.

Jim Peach, the associate director for design and construction at Johns Hopkins Facilities and Real Estate (JHFRE), spoke to The News-Letter about the current status of the Krieger Hall waterproofing project, and what students can expect in the upcoming year.

“We’ve progressed about 25 percent through the schedule and expected completion is still slated to be late summer or early fall of 2017,” Peach said. “Right now the colonnade has been disassembled, so all of the marble pieces that were all in the colonnade were carefully inventoried and stored, and we’re preparing to start waterproofing the walkway slab. Along the Krieger facade we’re removing marble stones in preparation of some waterproofing materials there.”

Hopkins students voiced mixed reactions to the construction.

Seniors Yasmine Kaminsky and Mallika Iyer understand that the construction is necessary but still an inconvenience to the student body, citing that it can be disruptive to those who would normally study nearby on the Brody Terrace.

“I don’t think I’m going to study out here [on the Terrace] very much. Over the weekend they weren’t here, so it was nice, but I’m just now noticing that I probably won’t be outside,” Kaminsky said. “I know it has to happen, but it’s unfortunate timing.”

Iyer said that the terrace was a good place to relax and study.

“I know they don’t have much of a choice in terms of the construction, so I wouldn’t blame anyone necessarily, but I do think it’s a nuisance,” she said. “It’s also kind of complicated to navigate because at first I had no idea how I was supposed to get over there.”

Junior Hailey Jordan remarked that the University usually has some sort of construction happening each year, so it has not affected her experience walking around campus.

“There’s usually something always going on, so it’s not much different than any other year. If anything, I look more lost even though I’m a junior,” Jordan said. “It’s been fairly easy [to take the detours] and it’s not too much of a difference. It’s not as much of an inconvenience as I thought it would be.”

Freshman Youlim Song struggled with the detours marked by the construction crews and found the new routes complicated. She noted that it was difficult for freshmen to find buildings for classes on Keyser Quad because of the construction.

“It is a little confusing because usually you would see the buildings through the quad, and then you’d be able to recognize it, but because there’s a huge amount of construction going on, it’s kind of hard to identify which buildings are around the quad,” Song said.  “I guess it does definitely phase me a little bit, but I’m trying to get used to going to the building that they direct you to.”

Sophomore Mingyu Yang, who has one class in Krieger Hall, said students will more likely miss gathering on the popular hang-out area of Keyser Quad than care as much about the noise or construction.

“The construction has had little effect on my journey to and from classes,” Yang said. “If anything, as a first year mentor, I’m more disappointed that my freshmen will be missing out on the quintessentially ‘Hopkins’ view of Gilman from across the quad.”

But many students also expressed understanding that the long-term benefits outweighed the short-term disruptions. Associate Director of Design and Construction Jim Peach stated that the feedback that JHFRE has received so far has been mostly positive.

“The information that we’ve received back has been that the planning has been very comprehensive and people were [...] adjusting very well to it,” Peach said.