Facilities update: Schwarzman Center, 320 York, Yale Science Building

Deputy Provost Lloyd Suttle (left) and Provost Ben Polak, wearing hard hats and neon safety vests, survey the construction inside Commons at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Center.

With the level below it dug out to prepare for the new gathering and performing spaces that will be constructed underneath, the massive, Hogwarts-like Commons looks even more cavernous than usual.

On Hewitt Quadrangle, where a stairwell will provide direct entry into the new subterranean student activity spaces, the construction crew discovered the original 1908 base of the Ledyard Flagstaff, which was relocated as part of the 2005 renovation of the quadrangle. The plaza’s cenotaph, installed in 1927 to memorialize the sacrifices of the “men of Yale” during World War I, is being conserved and will be reinstalled in its original location in the summer of 2020.

The original food preparation area and servery that were located in a portion of the moat on the north side of Commons will be replaced by a new, larger addition that will provide food service to Commons and other parts of the Schwarzman Center.

The common room of the former Hall of Graduate Studies, at 320 York Street, will be restored in all its splendor. The intricate “wood” paneled ceiling is actually painted plaster.

The steam pipes that ran through the basement of the former Hall of Graduate Studies are being removed so that the space can be converted into classrooms, faculty offices, student study spaces, and offices where teaching fellows can meet with students.

The newly renamed David Swensen Tower, which will contain offices, graduate student study spaces, and a faculty lounge on the top floor, stands tall over the construction-in-progress at 320 York Street.

In the courtyard of the future humanities quadrangle at 320 York Street, the construction team has injected new concrete pillars beneath the original foundations to “underpin” the renovated facility. The area beneath the courtyard will house a new auditorium and a screening room.

The new Yale Science Building offers a bird’s-eye view over Science Hill and to the heart of campus beyond. This photograph was taken in one of the shared meeting rooms that will be available throughout the building for use by students and researchers.

Inside the Yale Science Building, the 500-seat O.C. Marsh Lecture Hall — named in honor of the 19th-century paleontologist who helped establish the Peabody Museum of Natural History — will provide space for large classes in the sciences and other disciplines, and for visiting speakers and campus events.

Open-plan lab spaces in the Yale Science Building will be a convening place for collaborative research by faculty members and students from multiple departments in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

The courtyard on the west side of the new building, shrouded in snow in this photograph, will be a landscaped outdoor gathering space. The yellow fences visible here surround what will become a direct entry into the concourse area of the complex.