The UCLA that students see today will likely be different from
the UCLA they will see tomorrow.
The small university that began in 1919 as the southern
California branch of UC Berkeley has rapidly grown, with rising
buildings and face-lifts that can easily be seen throughout the
typical undergraduate’s stay at UCLA.
Such changes inevitably leave the imprint of detours and
construction cranes firmly planted in the mind of every student who
passes through the university.
The ongoing construction is part of the university’s
commitment to better serve the students, said Natalie Shivers, the
director of capital planning.
“There is a huge range of ways these buildings benefit
students,” Shivers said.
“A number of our projects are upgrades to the
infrastructure which make buildings safer and give students new and
improved facilities,” Shivers said. “All are to enhance
the educational environment here.”
Many aspects factor into the construction of buildings, said
Thomas LaVanne, director of construction services for Capital
Programs.
“We deal with quality, components, time frame, cost and
administration and management of schedules,” he said.
In just the past few years, buildings such as De Neve Plaza and
the Acosta Training Center have risen from the dirt, while parking
structures such as Sunset 7 Parking have materialized underneath
sports fields.
Renovation of the Courtside housing complex and Sproul Hall
lobby were designed to make the campus more appealing to students
living in the dormitories, and the current addition of Rieber North
and Hedrick North ““ which will be under construction
throughout the next academic year ““ will add to the
university’s capacity for student housing.
With the construction came the expected detours and noise, yet
many students have said that they did not mind the
inconveniences.
“Apart from some noise, it hasn’t been too
problematic, besides some vibrations,” said Raul Vincente, a
third-year physics student.
Other students agreed that the construction was not too big of
an issue, except for the jackhammering.
“It hasn’t really affected me too much,” said
Brent Bushnell, a fourth-year computer science student. “In a
couple of classes, there’s just been tons of
noise.”
Bushnell added that he has been quite happy with the
construction because of the ease the added facilities have given
him.
One of the structures that was completed in the past year is
Sunset 7 Parking, the large underground parking structure near the
UCLA Anderson School of Management.
“Once (the lot) was constructed, I’ve only had to
park in Lot 11 once,” Bushnell said. “It’s been a
huge benefit, and I’m very pleased with that.”
Construction has become a part of the campus environment and is
necessary for UCLA to continue to remain a world-class university,
said Fill Marc Sagadraca, a first-year film and television graduate
student.
“There’s construction on buildings, which makes it
sometimes inconvenient for people who walk through, but I’m
glad they’re constantly improving the campus,”
Sagadraca said.
Future construction on the UCLA campus is currently being
considered.
“There are a huge number of projects being studied,”
Shivers said. “We have requests for a new Life Sciences
building and Graduate School of Education & Information Studies
construction.”
But cuts in the state budget have put many projects on hold,
Shivers added.
“Until we get funding for anything it’s very
speculative,” she said.