{"82931":{"#nid":"82931","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Coon Building Renovation Earns Acclaim As Outstanding Design Project","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe $9.1 million renovation of Georgia Tech\u0027s J.S. Coon Building - completed on time, under budget and ready for occupancy this fall -- earns praise in the November 2003 issue of \u003Cem\u003EAmerican School \u0026amp; University\u003C\/em\u003E.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe respected trade publication follows trends in construction, design and planning of facilities at schools, junior colleges and universities throughout the United States. This month\u0027s issue honors the J.S. Coon Building renovation as one of 16 outstanding buildings in the Renovation\/Modernization category of the 2003 \u003Cem\u003EAmerican School \u0026amp; University \u003C\/em\u003EArchitectural Portfolio, compiled annually since 1983.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We\u0027re very proud of the new facility, and I think everybody at Georgia Tech can be proud of it,\u0022 said Randy Engle, chair of the School of Psychology.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe renovation, designed by the Atlanta architecture firm of Jova Daniels Busby, transformed the early 20th century building on Cherry Street and behind Tech Tower into a 21st century home for the students, faculty and staff of Georgia Tech\u0027s School of Psychology.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Coon Building was erected in 1912 and was first called the New Shop building. It later was renamed in honor of John Sayler Coon (\u003Cem\u003E1854-1938\u003C\/em\u003E), one of the Institute\u0027s original faculty members. \u0022Uncle Si,\u0022 as students knew him, was a professor of mechanical engineering who retired in 1922.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Coon Building\u0027s original architect, Francis Palmer Smith, also was head of Georgia Tech\u0027s first Achitecture Department, formed in 1908. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We are particularly  pleased that efforts have been made to preserve this important historic building designed by one of our own,\u0022 Georgia Tech architecture Professor Robert Craig said.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBetween October 2001 and September 2003, Uncle Si\u0027s campus namesake was transformed through an interior demolition and total renovation that included various changes to the building\u0027s exterior plus construction of an 11,000-square-foot addition and a 4,200-square-foot mezzanine. Architects and designers went to great lengths to maintain or incorporate some of the building\u0027s original architectural features into its new floor plans, Engle said.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The Coon Building is one of the most historic buildings on campus, and since we have so few like it, keeping the historic qualities of the building was something we wanted to do from the beginning,\u0022 he said. \u0022When we first started looking for a new home, the Coon building didn\u0027t seem like a real good match. But we worked with several architects and designs, and eventually we found ways to make the building work for the School of Psychology.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGary Petherick in the Office of Facilities was project manager for the Coon renovation, and he said he couldn\u0027t be more proud of the final result.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I have been fortunate to have been involved with four other major renovations of historic buildings during my career at Tech, and I can tell you it is always a good feeling to see our older buildings brought back to life,\u0022 Petherick said. \u0022In my opinion, one of the things that makes [the Coon renovation] stand out is the way the interior was made new while allowing the character of the original building to be retained.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHe said a good example of this is how the building addition allowed the old shop wing to be renovated, making full use of the story-and-a-half space and bringing part of the building exterior inside.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022It created a very interesting, atrium-like space,\u0022 Petherick said. He and Engle said that many unique challenges cropped up through the project. For example, making some rooms in the former mechanical shop quiet enough for researchers to conduct sensitive research requiring concentration and few distractions for test subjects was a major hurdle. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022With the Whistle right across the street, well, noise was a problem for us,\u0022 Engle said. But designers tackled it by adding extra insulation to labs and testing spaces while keeping many of the interior, exposed-brick walls visible to occupants, he said.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd, again, because of the building\u0027s location in the Georgia Tech Historic District, it was important that Coon\u0027s exterior appearance be altered as little as possible, Petherick said. It was no easy task.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The original building was made up of three wings, and the not all of the existing floor levels matched,\u0022 he said. \u0022One of the challenges faced by the designers was to make the building accessible [to the disabled], and this was accomplished by a combination of interior ramps and an elevator. In addition to the problems posed by the historic nature of the building \u0085 many unforeseen conditions in the old building challenged the contractor and the designers during construction. But these were overcome by maintaining a team-work focus between Georgia Tech, Jova Daniels Busby and Juneau Construction.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"The $9.1 million renovation of Georgia Tech\u0027s J.S. Coon Building - the new home of the School of Psychology -- earns praise in the November 2003 issue of \u003Cem\u003EAmerican School \u0026amp; University\u003C\/em\u003E.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27304","created_gmt":"2003-11-17 01:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:02:02","author":"Matthew Nagel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2003-11-06T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2003-11-06T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"82941":{"id":"82941","type":"image","title":"J.S. Coon Building","body":null,"created":"1449178087","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:28:07","changed":"1475894700","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:00"},"82951":{"id":"82951","type":"image","title":"Coon Building Lobby","body":null,"created":"1449178095","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:28:15","changed":"1475894700","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:00"}},"media_ids":["82941","82951"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.psychology.gatech.edu\/gatech\/coon\/NewSpace.htm","title":"School of Psychology Photo Gallery"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.facilities.gatech.edu\/projects\/cpjscoon.htm","title":"J.S. Coon Building Renovation and Expansion Project"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.schooldesigns.com\/frmMain.asp?main=ArchitecturalPortfolio2003.html","title":"American School \u0026 University Architectural Portfolio 2003"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELaura Diamond\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elaura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-894-6016\u003Cbr \/\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-660-2926\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["matthew.nagel@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}