UCSB has several construction projects slated for 2009, including completing the Education and Social Sciences Building, cementing plans for renovation of Davidson Library and designing campuswide infrastructure upgrades.

Education and Social Sciences Building

Construction of ESSB – located across from Robertson Gym and just east of the intersection of Ocean Road and El Colegio Road – began in March 2007 and is scheduled for completion this summer. In its finished state, ESSB will consist of three separate structures housing various departments and programs.

According to a Campus Design and Facilities inventory, the cost of ESSB’s construction will come to over $101 million dollars. Part of the project – the Carsey-Wolf Center for Film, Television and New Media – was funded by donations from such celebrities as “Law & Order” series creator Dick Wolf, UCSB alumnus and Oscar-winner Michael Douglas and “The Cosby Show” producer Marcy Carsey.

Vice Chancellor for Administrative Services Marc Fisher said the total space enclosed by these structures equals an impressive 200,000 square feet.

“I think it’s the biggest academic building complex probably since the 1960s,” Fisher said.

According to Julie Cunningham, Assistant Dean to the Space Planning and Management Dept., each of the three structures will serve separate purposes.

ESSB will house the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, which is currently located in Phelps Hall. A separate structure – the Social Studies and Media Studies building – will be home to programs in communication, film & media studies, global & international studies and sociology. The Carsey-Wolf Center for Film, Television and New Media building will house the Pollock Theater, which will provide 300 seats for state-of-the art film screenings and public events.

Infrastructure Renovations

In addition to completing the ESSB complex, UCSB Facilities engineers are in the process of modernizing the campus’ infrastructure.

According to Fisher, upgrades to UCSB’s gas and water lines will begin in the summer. These renovations will focus roughly on the center of campus, stretching from Campbell Hall to San Nicholas Hall. A Facilities project inventory has determined the cost of the plan to be around $34 million dollars.

The Arts building and the Davidson Library will also see overhauls in the future. Arts will undergo seismic corrections, which are scheduled to begin this summer. The total estimated cost of the seismic corrections is projected to be $23 million dollars.

In regards to the renovation of Davidson Library, Fisher said the planning phase is already underway and campus engineers will meet next week to further discuss the project. Fisher said actual construction on Davidson Library should begin by 2010 and is projected to add an additional 50,000 square feet of space to the library, as well as alter the current layout of the library.

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