Campus Construction Update, May 20, 2022

Associate Vice Chancellor for Finance and Operations Matt Dull chats with University Communications' Dave Blanks about the construction progress for App State's New River Hall. The exterior work is now complete.

Transcript

Dave Blanks: Hey folks, this is Dave Blanks from University communications, back with a campus construction update. Matt Dull is in the house. Hello Matt Dull.

Matt Dull: Hello.

Dave Blanks: It's a beautiful day out today. How was your walk over here to the studio?

Matt Dull: Just beautiful. Very quiet.

Dave Blanks: Yeah.

Matt Dull: There's no one here.

Dave Blanks: Post graduation. I saw two people on campus when I went for a walk yesterday, and I was one of them.

Matt Dull: Yeah.

Dave Blanks: There weren't many people out there.

Matt Dull: Yeah, it's a quiet week. That first week after graduation, that's a good vacation week for a lot of our staff, and they're getting a real break after a pretty difficult couple of years. Students are mainly gone, summer school doesn't start until, I guess, another week and a half from today.

Dave Blanks: Yeah.

Matt Dull: Or, even longer. I guess, two weeks from today. It's just a little quiet time on campus.

Dave Blanks: Exactly. Commencement was really cool, got to interview a lot of students. Our department, university communications, we're going to make a video about commencement. That'll be on Appalachian State University's YouTube page, at some point in time.

Matt Dull: Awesome. That's great.

Dave Blanks: We'll probably share it on Facebook, and Twitter as well.

Matt Dull: Pretty exciting to have an in-person spring graduation.

Dave Blanks: I know. It was great. Yeah, it was really good.

Matt Dull: Especially for you, since you didn't have to read all those names.

Dave Blanks: Thank you for thinking of me. Yes, I had to read...when we were off, and we didn't have in person graduations, I had to record all of the names for all the people that were graduating in my basement, at my house, in the still of night. It was terrible. Yes, I'm glad to have somebody else do it. I thanked them from afar.

Matt Dull: That's right.

Dave Blanks: When I heard them read all the names, I was like, "Oh, you are doing me such a solid. Thanks very much. You're appreciated." But anyway, let's get to the task at hand. Let's talk about construction at Appalachian State.

Matt Dull: Sounds good. Let's jump in.

Dave Blanks: I've noticed quite a few changes at New River. All the bricks on the outside, the exterior seems to be completely done. They're moving dirt around now outside, giving it some...it looks less like a bunch of craters, and more like it's starting to take shape. You're putting steps in.

Matt Dull: Yeah, steps are going in. Sidewalk, curb and gutter.

Dave Blanks: Yeah.

Matt Dull: Getting that final grade and elevation everywhere, to much more precise...for a while, we've been in this rough grade, which can kind of look like-

Dave Blanks: Is that what it's called, rough grade?

Matt Dull: Rough grade. It's generally where it's going to end up, but it's not ready to put in your sidewalks, or your pavers.

Dave Blanks: Sure.

Matt Dull: Or, your landscaping, and that kind of stuff. Now, really focusing in on pouring sight walls, there's a lot of little retaining walls everywhere, that are going in. Putting that elk stone, masonry veneer on those walls, that's happening here, in the next few weeks. Let's see. Pouring the lighting bases, so there's a concrete base on all the lights.

Dave Blanks: Oh, right.

Matt Dull: Yeah.

Dave Blanks: The Sternberg.

Matt Dull: The Sternberg.

Dave Blanks: Jinx!

Matt Dull: Those Sternberg lanterns, or even just the parking lot lights, we call them Cobra heads.

Dave Blanks: Yeah. Oh really? They're called Cobra heads? Yeah, I could see that. Yeah, okay. I didn't know that.

Matt Dull: Yeah, pouring all the bases. A lot of concrete work happening in this two to three week period, really trying to get a lot of that concrete work done, so that you can really focus in on getting those final touches to landscaping. Getting the light poles installed.

Dave Blanks: I guess you want to do that before you start pouring sidewalks around.

Matt Dull: The light poles are usually one of the last things.

Dave Blanks: Really? How do you...because, they have to be wired. You have to bury the wires.

Matt Dull: Actually, there's conduit already in place all the way to where they're going to be.

Dave Blanks: Oh, already?

Matt Dull: When they pour the bases, they pour that with conduit in it, so you can pull the electrical wire, or data wire we were putting in. Our parking and traffic systems have to go in, and all that stuff.

Dave Blanks: Yeah.

Matt Dull: All of that, actually, was done weeks and weeks ago, when you're doing the site work, because we knew where the locations where, all these spaces were.

Dave Blanks: Right.

Matt Dull: Now, it's actually forming and pouring the concrete bases. The last piece will be actually putting the light on, making the connection, and electrifying all the different sight lights that are out there.

Dave Blanks: I was reading Stephen Covey last night, I know this sounds like a real departure, but I've been on a real reading jag lately. I'm not bragging or anything, but I have read quite a few books this year. Seven Habits is one of the ones that I've been wanting to read for a long time. I keep coming back to it, and not finishing it, and starting something else. Anyway, I was reading a little of it last night, and it talked about how you do everything two times, kind of. Because, you do it in your head, and then, you do it in person.

Matt Dull: Yeah.

Dave Blanks: If you don't do it two times, you're going to probably end up messing up.

Matt Dull: Yeah.

Dave Blanks: Because, you didn't think it out, you just started to do whatever it was. We do it twice. Somebody has already thought through every aspect of it, in the planning process.

Matt Dull: Yeah.

Dave Blanks: Even the light poles, and where they'll be.

Matt Dull: Even the bulbs, and where they go.

Dave Blanks: The conduit, and what kind of conduit. So many decisions.

Matt Dull: I think we talked about it a few months ago, but that order of operations is so important on these kind of projects.

Dave Blanks: Yes. Not my strong suit, order of operations. I'm a catch as catch can. If it comes into my visual sight line, it usually gets my attention. Yeah, order of operations.

Matt Dull: That way, you're not tearing up this beautiful pavement, or sidewalk, or whatever you've already laid down.

Dave Blanks: You would say that, about pavement and sidewalk.

Matt Dull: It's so beautiful.

Dave Blanks: Gorgeous.

Matt Dull: So gorgeous. The last thing you want to do is, you do all this work, and you go in, and you have to trench a trench into it, and then patch it up. You really want it to start nice, and clean, and fresh. Everything has to really be planned out. And, the technology that's available today, there's a whole suite of tools called BIM. It's a building information management, I can't remember.

Dave Blanks: Module? Management, that makes sense.

Matt Dull: Basically, these BIM models will let you visualize, almost 3D, of where all the utilities, for example, might be in the building.

Dave Blanks: Oh.

Matt Dull: You can make sure that you've got enough room.

Dave Blanks: Wow.

Matt Dull: How you were planning on installing this, does it actually fit in the space that you were planning on? The level of detail that occurs on paper, if you will, or in the computer, or modeling, before you ever do one thing on site, is pretty amazing these days.

Dave Blanks: Building information modeling.

Matt Dull: Modeling, there you go.

Dave Blanks: Yeah. There are quite a few of them, these programs.

Matt Dull: There's a number of programs that do it, but it's really interesting, where you can put in all of your CAD drawings, and it creates these 3D models, where you can actually test before you get into the field. Test fit for things, and just test out your plan, to make sure that it can be executed, as planned on paper.

Dave Blanks: Nice, cool.

Matt Dull: That's a whole new world that has been interesting, in this project, is to see more and more use of that BIM modeling, to really coordinate these order of operations, and coordinate the trades, and who's doing what, and what modifications we might have to make in the plans, when you actually 3D model it.

Dave Blanks: Right. Ya see on "The Brady Bunch," all he had was an actual model, that he had to build-

Matt Dull: With an X-Acto knife.

Dave Blanks: Mike Yeah. He was cutting it out. Exactly, right. Yeah.

Matt Dull: That's right. It has definitely evolved.

Dave Blanks: Yeah, since Mike Brady was working on it. I don't think he works for our firm.

Matt Dull: No, I don't think so.

Dave Blanks: No, probably not. All right. Anymore on New River, before we sail over somewhere else? I don't know why we're sailing. Before we head somewhere else?

Matt Dull: I'm just trying to think. Interior of the building, the units are substantially complete. We're working through punch list items now, in the units. That central amenities area on the bottom floor, drywall is going in now. We're really moving on that central area, to where it'll be wrapped up here in the next couple of weeks.

Dave Blanks: The units are complete to the point of, there's light covers, there's all that?

Matt Dull: They're complete to the point of furniture ready to move in.

Dave Blanks: Oh, okay. All right.

Matt Dull: And students ready to move in.

Dave Blanks: Fantastic.

Matt Dull: We're probably about six weeks out from total completion of the project. End of June is the deadline.

Dave Blanks: How many more residence halls? How many more do we have to build after this?

Matt Dull: This is it.

Dave Blanks: Yes. I knew you were going to say that. I was excited.

Matt Dull: Yeah, really wrapping it...we're talking just about five or six weeks out.

Dave Blanks: Six weeks?

Matt Dull: Yeah. Furniture will go in late June, early to mid-July, and students will start moving in, in August. It is moving along quickly. The only other thing...one thing that's happening here, in the next couple of weeks, too, not necessarily on that site, but on Stadium Drive. We'll actually be putting in a raised crosswalk on Stadium Drive.

Dave Blanks: No kidding?

Matt Dull: Here in a couple of weeks.

Dave Blanks: I can't wait.

Matt Dull: Yeah.

Dave Blanks: That's wonderful.

Matt Dull: It'll be one of those, call it a speed table. Instead of being a-

Dave Blanks: Wait. I was picturing a bridge over the road.

Matt Dull: Oh, no no no no.

Dave Blanks: This is not all what I was picturing.

Matt Dull: Not a bridge.

Dave Blanks: Oh man. Because, my shocks on my Tacoma, they're not so great.

Matt Dull: Yeah. This is not going to be better.

Dave Blanks: Oh no. All right. That's okay too, I guess. It's not as cool as a bridge.

Matt Dull: Not as cool as a bridge.

Dave Blanks: Pedestrian bridge would be what you would say, if you were going to say that. But, you didn't say that.

Matt Dull: No.

Dave Blanks: You said, "Raised crosswalk."

Matt Dull: Raised crosswalk, yeah.

Dave Blanks: Which is like the ones, we've discussed this, at the Holmes Convocation Center.

Matt Dull: Yeah, very similar to those.

Dave Blanks: Yeah.

Matt Dull: It has a little table to them, and it'll ramp up.

Dave Blanks: They have their purpose, they're good.

Matt Dull: Yeah.

Dave Blanks: All right.

Matt Dull: It's really to help slow traffic down a little bit, and make people realize that is the main pedestrian-

Dave Blanks: Yes.

Matt Dull: And, direct pedestrian traffic there, too.

Dave Blanks: That's also handy.

Matt Dull: It's both for the student traffic, as well as who's driving up and down Stadium Drive, to really get people using that crosswalk.

Dave Blanks: I could help with a pedestrian bridge, if y'all need a hand. I think that would be cool, too. Then, it would be like, when you're walking to the Rock, you'd maybe walk underneath the bridge, and we could hang banners on it. I don't know. I'll talk to somebody.

Matt Dull: Yeah. I think we could afford a rope bridge right now.

Dave Blanks: Yes! Do it! Like, "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom."

Matt Dull: That's right.

Dave Blanks: Like that bridge. Let's not do that. All right. Raised crosswalk will do.

Matt Dull: Raised crosswalk. That's coming in the next few weeks, trying to get that done before summer session happens, before students start coming back, and orientations, and all stuff that starts happening when you get to late May, early June.

Dave Blanks: All right.

Matt Dull: Trying to get that done in the next couple of weeks, and the weather looks like it's going to be cooperating with us. Thinking about moving even further over, Eggers and Bowie, those halls will start coming down soon. Next week, we'll be putting up a fence around that site. We're moving out furniture from those buildings, doing some surplus of that furniture, and some hauling off of the furniture. It's not reusable, doing some recycling with that furniture. That's happening over the next two weeks. That whole area is going to be fenced off next week. They'll start the demolition of both of those buildings on June the first. They'll, again, do mechanical demolition. They'll be taking that down from the outside in, like they did over at Gardner-Coltrane, with all those cool dinosaur sounds.

Dave Blanks: Exactly. I wondered if you were going to say that. I've gotten over the fact that we're not imploding it, so we don't have to.

Matt Dull: Yeah.

Dave Blanks: Sorry.

Matt Dull: It is probably the number one question I get.

Dave Blanks: Really?

Matt Dull: Yes.

Dave Blanks: "Oh, are you going to implode it?"

Matt Dull: That's right. "What day are y'all doing that?"

Dave Blanks: Sorry.

Matt Dull: Yeah.

Dave Blanks: Cool. Where else do we want to go today? Is that it? Do you want to just stay with the residence halls today?

Matt Dull: Yeah, that sounds great. That's a big update today.

Dave Blanks: Eggers and Bowie. When Bowie's gone, people won't have to correct people when they call it Bowie.

Matt Dull: That's right.

Dave Blanks: Bowie Hall.

Matt Dull: That right.

Dave Blanks: Big changes, but only six weeks out.

Matt Dull: Yeah, only about six weeks out for the new construction.

Dave Blanks: For New River.

Matt Dull: And then, for New River Hall.

Dave Blanks: Yeah. Are we going to do a dedication ceremony again?

Matt Dull: There will be a ribbon cutting-

Dave Blanks: Right.

Matt Dull: Dedication ceremony. Finalizing the dates right now.

Dave Blanks: Okay.

Matt Dull: Hopefully, before the semester starts we'll be able to do that.

Dave Blanks: Matt, thanks for visiting. I've enjoyed having you.

Matt Dull: Absolutely. Thanks Dave.

Dave Blanks: All right, take care.

Matt Dull: See you soon.