The highly anticipated and repeatedly delayed Life Sciences Building is scheduled to be dedicated Oct. 6 as the Sidney E. Frank Hall for Life Sciences. Construction of the five-story, 170,000 square foot structure shut down Olive Street and sparked a lawsuit filed by embittered neighborhood residents.
According to Richard Spies, executive vice president for planning and senior adviser to the president, the LiSci is, as of now, "not quite finished. It's very close, but not quite." Though the building was originally projected to be ready for occupancy in the spring, its opening was pushed back to the summer. Spies said departments will not begin moving in until October, and the process will not be finished until 2007. When complete, the building will hold the Department of Neuroscience and the Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry.
The first discussions about the LiSci began more than 10 years ago, Spies said. Planning and design for the building began in 2000, and construction started in the summer of 2003. Several setbacks have interfered with the construction process, including a lawsuit filed by community members against the federal agencies responsible for environmental assessment of the LiSci site. Delays have also been attributed to disputes with nearby restaurant Via Via IV and to cleanup of contamination at the site from the Shell gas station on Angell Street. The gas station was demolished this summer.
Barry Connors, professor of neuroscience and chair of the department, noted the low quality of the buildings that currently house his department, Metcalf Lab and Metcalf Research buildings. But with the imminent completion of the LiSci, the neuroscience department will soon be able to move into updated facilities in a more convenient location next to the Biomedical Center. According to Connors, the process of moving in will take roughly six weeks, as the department's faculty, graduate students, post-doctorates, technicians and administrators total about 100 people. The department also has 15 labs with sensitive chemicals and equipment that have to be moved with extreme care.
As involved as the moving process may be, Connors emphasized that his department is more than ready to begin. "Oh, we're ready now. The building, however, is not."
No home yet for cognitive science and linguistics
The new LiSci was originally intended to house the Department of Neuroscience, the Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry and the Department of Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences. But by 2002 it became evident that all three programs would not be able to fit in the allotted space. At this point, the Brown Corporation began to push for a separate building to house the cognitive and linguistic sciences department. In 2004, liquor tycoon and University benefactor Sidney Frank '42 donated $20 million - the largest single gift for a building ever made to Brown - to build a new home for the cognitive and linguistic sciences department, to be located at 154 Angell St. and called Sidney E. Frank Hall. After Frank's death in January, however, those plans changed slightly.
"With Mr. Frank's untimely death last winter, the idea of doing something in his honor sooner rather than later emerged," Spies said. "Many of the ideas that excited him about 154 Angell St. are now being realized in the Life Sciences Building."
Both the Frank family and the Corporation decided that honoring Frank's memory by naming the LiSci after him, instead of the cognitive and linguistic sciences building, was a "terrific idea," Spies said.
As yet, the planned $35 million cognitive and linguistic sciences building at 154 Angell St. has no lead donor, said Ronald Vanden Dorpel AM '71, senior vice president for University advancement. Vanden Dorpel said the University hopes to raise a large donation for the naming of the building.
"In the course of the campaign we're in, we're trying to raise over $200 million for new buildings," Vanden Dorpel said. "One of our primary objectives is the cognitive and linguistic sciences building, and we're continuing with fundraising."
William Warren, professor of cognitive and linguistic sciences and chair of the department, said there will be an unfortunate spatial "gap" between neuroscience and cognitive science after the neuroscience department moves to the LiSci this fall. He added, however, that the planned site for the cognitive and linguistic sciences building is adjacent to the LiSci, allowing for easy communication between the departments once construction of the new cognitive and linguistic sciences home at 154 Angell St. is complete.
Warren, who also serves on the building committee for 154 Angell St., said the schematic design is nearing completion. During that phase, architects have designed the basic plan for the four-story building. The next phase - design development - will delve into details such as the building's electrical systems, heating systems and materials.
The demolition of the Shell station in late July has readied the site for the eventual start of construction once adequate funds are obtained, Warren said.
