SFCC is starting to get back to normal as COVID-19 is getting under control, so parts of the campus are getting a redesign. 

Any students taking in-person classes may have noticed the commotion on the backside of campus. Through the last month, construction has begun on the existing Photo Building. In its place the new Fine and Applied Arts Building will stand. 

“[The goal is] to give our fine arts, photography, and filmmaking programs a suitable space to serve our students,” Dean Bonnie Glantz said. “We are replacing two of the oldest buildings on campus, building 6 and building 11, with lots of infrastructure problems due to their age (plumbing, heating, ventilation, roof, etc.)”

This building will act as two of the current buildings on campus. Building 6 is the fine arts building located near the center of campus near the student union building. Building 11 is the photo building located in the back of campus surrounded by a large parking lot that will be sectioned off during construction.

The new building will be built in the location of Building 11 and will take up much more of the original parking area, being almost twice the size of the original building. Although more space will be taken up, it will be filled with an abundance of space for art, photography and study spaces. 

Building 11 housed many of the photography courses on campus, so while the construction takes place those classes will be displaced.

“We have a studio, darkroom, and classrooms in Building 16 for on-ground or hybrid classes, and a few have been converted to fully online,” Glantz said.

Much of the northwest section of campus has been dedicated to a large parking lot for the buildings located there. A large part of that parking lot will continue to be blocked off while construction takes place.

“Construction of the Fine and Applied Arts replacement facility (FAA) was divided into 4 phases or Bid Packs (BP) due to constraints with funding appropriations,” Brown said. “BP1 – Create long term temporary replacement program space for the Photography Department in Building 16, Human Services.  The program will be in this location for the duration of construction. BP2 – Demolition of Building 11, Photography, and FAA site preparation. BP3 – FAA Facility construction; construction of new Elliot Way pedestrian promenade; site landscape and parking construction. BP4 – Demolition of Building 6, Fine Arts, and site restoration.”

While the construction in its completion will take an extended time, the hope is the new Fine and Applied Arts Building will be open for students attending campus in the Fall quarter of 2023. The total budget for all four Bid packs, or the complete construction, is $42,169,000.

“The SFCC Administration has developed a Parking Workgroup or Taskforce to study the campus as a whole, taking into consideration the availability of parking after the FAA construction,” Cint Brown, director of capital construction said. “This effort is led by VP [of Instruction] Brady and the Director-Office of Campus Safety, Ken DeMello.”

The fenced area will contain construction from behind the west side of Building 16 to the north side of building 15. It will encompass just the parking lot during BP2 but will expand to the drive through road between the main campus area and building 11. 

The new Fine and Applied Arts Building and surrounding construction will not only affect the courses taken on campus, but it will open up the campus as a whole. When construction of the two buildings are complete there will be more spaces for students to enjoy outside of class.

“It will extend the lawn and pedestrian-friendly zones all the way to the rim overlooking the river,” Glantz said. “There will be no more traffic moving through that end of campus. Instead, both the entrances to the college will end in a parking area on either side of the building.” 

Not only will the new building be longer than the original building. It will be a two-story building, much like the other newer buildings on campus. While it will take up more space, it will give students a view found nowhere else on campus. 

“Because the building will be situated on the rim overlooking the river, the aim is to be a gateway between the campus and the natural world,” Glantz said. ”The new building will draw people through campus all the way to the edge of the river.”

Staff, faculty, administrator, and facilities staff all had input on the design of the new building. The design of the building and decor brings the surrounding area inside.

“The architects picked a color palette and building materials that reflect the flora and fauna in our area,” Glantz said. “A large glass lobby will draw the view through the building and beyond, to the natural setting. The student hang-out areas each have a unique color scheme based on one of our local birds, and they will have great views.”

The courses available once the new building is complete will be complete with the same that were in the original two buildings it will replace. Courses will consist of a range of fine arts, digital filmmaking and photography. 

This process will be a long one for the SFCC campus. The Fine and Applied Arts Building is expected to be available for in person courses for fall of 2023. The expectation for the completion of all construction of both buildings and landscape for this project is June 2024.