The Department of Facilities Management, which is overseeing a number of construction projects across campus, has begun to post online videos and slide shows of the construction sites. The department has received positive feedback on the documentation of campus construction, officials say.
This summer, Peter Green House, which housed part of the history department, was moved from its old location at 142 Angell Street to the corner of Brown and Angell streets. Facilities Management documented the move by posting both pictures and a video of the relocation on its Web site.
"The reason we put this information online is because we feel it is informative and interesting, and (we feel) the Brown community would be interested in seeing this work," wrote Vice President for Facilities Management Stephen Maiorisi in an e-mail to The Herald.
Similarly, a slide show of pictures detailing the summer construction behind the Olney-Margolies Athletic Center was posted on the Department of Athletics' Web site. "We put those (pictures) up over the summer so that students could follow it, the parents could follow it and the donors could follow it," said Assistant Athletic Director of Marketing Richard Merriam.
These are not the first campus construction projects to be filmed. Facilities Management also had a Web cam capturing the construction of the Sidney Frank Hall for Life Sciences, which opened in 2006.
"That was the first time, to my knowledge, that Facilities Management used this technology," Maiorisi wrote.
According to Merriam, the pace of future construction projects - such as the new swim center, tennis courts and the Jonathan Nelson Fitness Center - will also be captured online with slide shows. Though a decision has yet to be made, Facilities Management may also install Web cams near these construction projects in order to keep Brown students, parents and donors informed about campus construction progress.
