The bathrooms in the basement of the Friedman Study Center in the Sciences Library are in the midst of a major upgrade, said Michael Guglielmo, facilities management director of design and construction.
The bathrooms were the subjects of numerous complaints and had not been renovated since 2008, he added.
Even since the center was first built, “during peak periods of use, there were situations where there was a backup and students were waiting in queue for the facilities,” Guglielmo said. “This is a fairly significant investment for the University to help facilitate the full functionality of the Friedman Study Center during those peak periods.”
The current bathrooms will remain, but they will be renovated as single stall, gender-inclusive bathrooms, Guglielmo said. The new multi-stall bathrooms will be located in the southwest corner of the center, he added.
While the size of the bathrooms was what prompted the renovations, both the men’s and women’s bathrooms are not in pristine condition.
“The bathroom is very tiny, really hot and disgusting. There’s paint falling off the wall,” said Georgiana McTigue ’19.
Casey Abrahams ’19 commented on the tight confines and lack of waiting spaceinside the women’s bathroom. There is also the risk of being hit by the stall door when washing one’s hands, she added.
The men’s bathroom has the same issues of chipping paint and cramped quarters.
The renovations should be completed by the end of April. But the current bathrooms are still available for use, as the new bathrooms will be completed before the current bathrooms are renovated, Guglielmo said.
But at night, the center will not be a quiet silence space for the next few months. A sign has been posted throughout the center warning students of loud noise from construction between 1:00 AM and 8:00 AM.
Architecture Research Office, the same firm that designed the new applied mathematics building, designed the new facilities, Guglielmo said. The construction is being carried out by Consigli Construction.
