Tritton Hall & Kim Hall

Last Thursday, I, along with a few other representatives from the New Dorm Steering Committee had the fantastic opportunity to take a sneak peak at the nearly completed Kim and Tritton Halls.

In short, they look utterly fantastic and I’m incredibly jealous of the lucky freshmen and upperclassmen soon to move into them!

A number of pictures of Kim and Tritton follow, but even though they were primarily taken by the talented Dylan Lazovik, they really don’t do the dorms justice. In order to truly appreciate the beauty and functionality of the new dorms, I highly recommend a visit (especially to my favorite space, the breathtaking and zen-like study room).

Without further ado…. the photos!

As the opening for the new dorms grows ever closer (August 2012!!!), there have been a lot of questions around campus about the amenities of Kim and Tritton Hall.

Therefore, since the latest tour of Kim and Tritton highlighted the interior features of the dorms, it is now time to set the record straight.

40 students will live in each floor of the new dorms, for a total of 160 students lucky enough to call the latest and greatest dorms home.

Every floor will have four bathrooms (with 2 showers and 3 stalls per bathroom) and two laundry rooms. Additionally, each floor will have two common rooms and a study room. The common rooms in particular will include a kitchenette with counter space and a convection oven and a 42” flat screen TV surrounded by ridiculously comfortable sofas. Finally, there will be many smaller study “nooks” scattered around each floor and the lower floors of Kim and Tritton will have a lovely courtyard.

Overall, there will be a tremendous amount of amenities in the new dorms!!!

Kim Hall

Kim and Tritton continue to be built at a rapid pace!

In light of this new progress, Ron Tola, Director of Facilities, recently gave members of the New Dorm Steering Committee an extensive tour of the new dorms. Right now, with the exteriors almost totally complete, the interior rooms are the focus of the construction efforts.

Interior Shot of a Corridor

Karl Poses in the Courtyard 

Another Shot of the Courtyard

Finally, as a quick reminder, in addition to the beautiful courtyards, there will be two common rooms (each with a kitchenette and a 42” flat screen TV) and a study room per floor of the new dorms. So much common space!

Students returning to campus after winter break were amazed by how much progress Kim and Tritton Hall have made!

Tritton Hall as of 1/25/12

Tritton and Kim Halls as of 1/25/12

With both stories now fully constructed, workers are now beginning to work on the interiors.

It’s amazing to think that just a year ago this was just a pile of dirt:

Kim and Tritton Halls as of 2/3/11

Kim Hall as of 12/3/11

Tritton Hall as of 12/3/11

Board of Managers members, former President Tom Tritton, Interim President Creighton, other wonderful Haverford administrators, New Dorm Steering Committee Members, and other student government representatives were all on hand today for a guided hard hat tour of Kim and Tritton Halls.

Before the tour started, James Friedman ’67, Chair of the Property Committee, Joanne Creighton, interim President, Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, New Dorm Architects, and Dylan Lazovik commented on the incredible progress of the New Dorms (still on-time and on-budget) and the groundbreaking design.

Dylan's Speech

Providing the student perspective, Dylan detailed the tremendous amount of student input on the design and construction process has led to two dorms that truly reflect the values and goals of the student body regarding residential life. Additionally, Dylan discussed the transformative effect that the generosity of MBK Educational and Jaharis Family Foundations has had on residential life on campus overall. After all, Kim and Tritton halls have led the College to improve, through a 1.2 million dollar renovation campaign, dorms across campus.

The Tour

Tod, Billie, and Ron Tola and Kathleen DiJoseph of facilities, then led the group on a tour of the New Dorms as they currently stand. As you can tell, since my last post, there has been continued work, with the second floor of Kim in particular really taking shape.

After the tour, there was a delicious lunch in the Swan Room of the GIAC where students, administrators, and Managers alike could not get over what incredible spaces Kim and Tritton Halls are shaping up to be.

The Brick!

We also got gifts of the Danish brick that will frame the exterior of the dorms!

Update: Architect Tod Williams leads a “hard hat” construction tour of two new student residences.

The campus has been abuzz with talk of how (seemingly overnight) Kim and Tritton Hall have taken shape!

Tritton (left) and Kim (right) as of 11/15/11)

Looking at the site, walls for the first floors of both buildings are up and the second story for Kim is currently being built.

Kim Hall

Tritton Hall

This excellent progress of on-site workers and our wonderful general contractor, W.S. Cumby, has kept the dorm on track for an August 2012 opening… just in time for the class of 2016!

The wonderful Dylan Lazovik , past New Dorms blogger extraordinaire, has retired from his role and I have been selected to pick up where he left off.

A little about me:
-I’m originally from Randolph, New Jersey
-I’m a sophomore Growth and Structure of Cities Major.
-I’m a student rep to the New Dorm Steering Committee
-I’m also a member of the Residential Life and Up-Campus Dorm Renovation Committees.
-I’m VERY excited about Kim and Tritton!

I shall be posting my first update soon on the actual dorm, but until then…

-Ben

Excitement and dialogue abounds in the mock-up dorm room as Steering Committee members discuss changes to mullion heights, ceiling tray placement, and other aspects of the room design, including the recently added custom furniture. There was no doubt at the end of this session that these new rooms would certainly be spacious enough to host a good-sized gathering.

Bales of hay sit on the Tritton/Kim site

After a period of inactivity following the end of site work on the former Orchard Lot, a mysterious pile of hay bales has recently been dropped off at the site, much to the intrigue of passersby. It’s unclear what purpose the bales will serve as the start date for construction of the new residence halls draws nearer.

UPDATE: The hay bales will actually be used in the process of laying the foundation when construction begins. Currently, there is over a foot of extra soil sitting atop the site, assisting in water absorption and retention. When construction commences, this excess soil will be removed and reused to create the berm and the whole site will sit more than a foot lower than its current elevation.

Students gathered in Ryan Gym tonight to build gingerbread houses, and one group–energized by the site work occurring on the former Orchard Lot– took the opportunity to show off their interpretation of the current state of the Tritton and Kim Residence Halls. The group titled their artwork “New Dorms…As They Appear Now.”