• Install carpet and clean plaster in the Reading Room

• Complete tuck-pointing of the 1935 exterior

• Replace earthquake damaged terra-cotta on the 1925 wing

• Complete finish work in the 1925 wing

• Complete punch-list work in the 1935 wing

• Begin elevator renovations

• Restore landscaping

Openings and Celebrations

• Copy Center re-opened in new location (3rd Floor Allen South) on June 24th

• West End Entrance ribbon-cutting ceremony, September 30th, 11:30 a.m.

• Dedication Ceremony November 14th, 2:30 p.m.

• Total Budget $47,357,000

• 192,000 Work Hours

• 114,000 Square Feet behind construction wall

The construction staging areas on the North and South sides of Suzzallo Library will be restored to landscaping by September. Bill Talley, UW Landscape Architect, met with the UW Grounds Maintenance supervisors to plan the restoration. Removal of the asphalt paving is first, then the underground irrigation system will be inspected and any necessary repairs made.

The UW gardeners will untie the tree branches, remove other tree protection and prune trees to remove any damage. Other tasks include the addition or replacement of soil as needed, replanting grass, and repairing or replacing the wooden benches located along the South side of the building.

A record was kept of the perennial garden along the South wall, and replacement plantings will recreate this garden as it was before Renovation. The small elm trees that were removed prior to construction will be replaced with an elm variety that is resistant to Dutch Elm Disease. For more information see the June 6th University Week article.

The UW Construction Trailer, located between Mary Gates Hall and the Allen Library, will be removed in late June so that landscaping can be restored on that site. This trailer has been in place since 1995 when it first served as the Mary Gates Hall project trailer; in 2000 it became the Suzzallo Renovation Project trailer. Construction staff will be relocated within Suzzallo.

• Children's Literature will be located with Reference on the First Floor (north side) of the 1963 wing.

• The Copy Center has moved to the Third Floor Allen South.

• Curriculum moves to the Allen North Balcony (glass enclosed area one floor above the lobby).

• Government Publications will be located on the Ground Floor of the 1925 wing and in part of the 1963 wing.

• Interlibrary Borrowing and Resource Sharing Service will be located on the Ground Floor of the 1935 wing.

• International Studies offices will move to the First Floor of the 1935 wing.

• Microforms and Newspapers will move to the Ground Floor in the 1963 building.

• Reference and Research Services will move from the Ground Floor to the First Floor of the 1963 wing.

• All buildings of Suzzallo seismically strengthened.

• Life/safety systems in older sections of the building (fire alarms, smoke detectors).

• Improved wheelchair accessibility through the West Entrance.

• Updated wheelchair accessible restrooms on the Ground, First, Third, and Fifth floors of 1963 wing.

• Five Group study rooms on the Third Floor of the 1935 Wing.

• Greater access to the Smith Room.

It took over a year to replace the earthquake-damaged terra-cotta finials for the west façade of Suzzallo. Here's what went on behind the scenes before the finials could be replaced by the same company who made them originally, Gladding McBean of Lincoln, California:

• Assessed seismic damage - March, 2001.

• Developed a repair plan, reviewed funding and insurance issues.

• Contacted Gladding McBean for site walks and reviews (visits occurred April 11, 2001).

• Pricing was received and reviewed and the order was confirmed in June, 2001.

• Salvaged pieces were sent to Gladding-McBean for making of molds, and later there were subsequent site visits to gather other information.

• Numerous submittals were then made over the next six months to insure that the color and texture of the new pieces matched existing finials.

• Replacement work was then scheduled to occur in the same time frame as the exterior work on the south side of the 1935 building.

Some of the window finials that were replaced.

The pieces to be replaced varied in size from small caps around 5" high, to the window finial pieces that are 21" in length -- imagine a hollow brick 21" long and 7" square. The following is a review of the intricate manufacturing process prepared by Julie Chien, Turner Construction Company, as described by Gladding McBean:

1. Scaled shop drawings were made from the salvaged fragments and from photographs of the intact pieces on the building.

2. Plaster molds were made from the approved shop drawings with allowances for shrinkage.

3. Wet clay was kneaded repeatedly by hand to get rid of the air bubbles then rolled into the rough shape of the mold.
4. The clay was pressed into the mold and pounded into a uniform mass with a wet clay-covered mallet. All crevices and crannies and air pockets had to be filled.

5. The excess clay was scooped out leaving sides no thicker than 1-1/2''. Clay webs were left in place as needed for support.

6. The wet clay was left in the mold for approximately 2 hours until the surface was dry enough to release the clay from the molds. The molds were often made in sections to facilitate the removal.

7. The clay shapes were then fine-tuned, shaped. Texture, if any, was added at this stage. Suzzallo terra-cotta pieces have corduroy-like ribs on the surface. It was important to the architects to match the weathered texture as much as possible.

8. The pieces were then left to dry in an indoor heated area for 5 days.

9. The air-dried pieces then entered a gas-fired kiln, which was gradually brought up to 160 °F for 4 days. Afterwards the pieces were ready for glazing.

10. During submittal time several small glazing color samples were picked by the architects, then 12'' x 12'' actual glazed terra-cotta samples were made from the approved color range. These samples also have the approved texture.

11. After the pieces were glazed, they were set on an 11'x10' cart ready to go into the firing kiln.

12. The firing kiln was brought to 2100 °F over 43 hours and then maintained for 10 hours.

13. Next the kiln was shut off to allow the pieces to mature for 14 to 16 hours. At the end of that time the kiln was about 200 °F.

14. The pieces on the carts were moved to the vestibule to cool to room temperature.

15. The additional material that was left on the pieces to protect the edges during processing had to be trimmed to the shop drawing dimensions. The finished terra-cotta pieces were finally ready to be shipped to the job site and were installed in April.