Students demolish classroom for learning experience

Students in the Eastern’s construction management program have the opportunity to apply their classroom knowledge before graduation.

This included demolishing their old construction lab in Sill Hall in a spring term design build class.

“The original construction lab was chopped up into two separate areas, which didn’t function well for our classes,” said construction management professor Jim Stein in a university press release. “The newly renovated space now offers us more flexibility, and the higher ceiling will allow our students to work on larger building projects.”

The demolition was not all hard hats and sledgehammers, though. Students also managed the construction project. This included planning, estimating, scheduling and safety management.

Lectures were still an important part of the course. Topics covered demolition methods, safety, asbestos and lead abatement, scheduling and estimating.

The project included demolishing the wall and closet that separated the classroom and lab, removing the old lighting and replacing it with new lighting, removing the drop ceiling, relocating the overhead sprinklers, removing the tile flooring, painting the concrete floors, and asbestos abatement.

“By removing the existing drop ceiling to expose the mechanical, electrical, plumbing and structural components, we now have a space to use as a teaching aid for our students,” Stein told university communications. “The pipes were also color-coded for reference purposes.”

Local contractors partially funded the renovation project. They painted the walls and ceilings, refinished the floors and relocated the sprinkler pipes.

The construction management program can be found inside the College of Technology, and more information can be found at the Construction Management Program website.