Students Work with Architects on Millikan Remodel

A committee of students, professors and administrators is working with EHDD Architecture to develop plans for the renovation of Pomona College's Robert S. Millikan building.

The committee, which is made up of students and faculty from the Math and Physics & Astronomy departments and representatives from the Office of Facilities and Campus Services and the Dean of Students Office, hosted a brainstorming session March 8 in Millikan's math lounge.The event allowed interested students to meet the architects in charge of the project and offer input while Physics Professor David Tanenbaum whipped up some liquid nitrogen ice cream.

EHDD, a San Francisco-based firm, has also worked on the Monterey Bay Aquarium and various LEED certified buildings.

One major point of discussion at the meeting was whether to attempt a renovation of the current building or to tear it down and rebuild it completely. Committee members said that while the plans are still vague, they will likely include a science courtyard that would replace the parking lot currently behind the building, in hopes of improving the aesthetics and sustainability of the area.

Students use Millikan both during the day for classes and at night for mentor and study sessions.

There are lots of people here after hours, said Allison Miller PO 12, a math major. Miller mentioned one student who routinely slept at Millikan and then went to his morning class in the building.

At the event, the architects from EHDD asked students to mark on a diagram the ways they entered and exited the building and the paths they took inside the building. The architects collected these diagrams and will use them in creating design plans. The architects also asked students to suggest any ideas they had for a renovation that would make for their ideal Millikan.

Some of the more outlandish ideas included a particle accelerator in the basement, a hot tub time machine in the courtyard and the exclusion of any 90-degree angle from the building. More realistic suggestions ranged from more windows, an additional staircase and better study spaces.

An intense discussion on the merits of chalkboards versus whiteboards also raged on for several minutes as whiteboard advocates suggested that the chalkboards be replaced with the less powdery and noise intensive dry erase system.

Millikan was built in the 1950s and is the final science building to undergo renovation, or potential demolition. The renovation is not only occurring to improve lab, office and study spaces, but also because the current plumbing and air-conditioning systems leave much to be desired.

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Students Work with Architects on Millikan Remodel