With construction on the Snyder School of Cinema & Media Arts (CMA) studio facility almost a month underway, the site has seen a lot of action. Excavators busily level and grade the area while workers huddle around various tasks, and pink flag markers dot the landscape.
Though the construction team has attempted to minimize the impact on nearby classrooms by using measures such as sound-insulating blankets, classes in the Business Building, Lim Center and Production Center have experienced intermittent tremors coming from the work site.
Brian Phillips, Associate vice president of facility and auxiliary operations explained the cause of the vibrations.
“The tremors you are feeling are from the shoring beams that are being vibrated into the ground. These steel beams will soon support shoring panels that will allow crews to safely excavate the basement level of the new building,” said Phillips.
Shoring is the process of reinforcing a construction site’s foundations so that construction crews can excavate without the risk of walls collapsing in. The team directing the excavation of the new basement level has opted for a shoring system known as H or I-Beam Shoring, which drives prefabricated steel beams into the earth, in this case by vibration.
The tremors have not gone unnoticed by classrooms with students and teachers distracted by rattling desks and ceiling panels. Joy Qualls, Associate Dean for the Division of Communication, commented on the effects of the tremors on her classes.
“The vibrations are distracting and can be a little disconcerting,” Qualls said. She added that while it is “no fun in the moment, [it] is part of the price of building.” She added that she is excited to see the further transformation of the campus.
Jordan Story, a sophomore business major, shared his experiences working as a teacher’s assistant (TA) and attending class in the business building.
“The loud noises and somewhat regular shaking of the building make it hard for me to stay focused,” Story said. However, he also acknowledged the necessary price of construction on a college campus. “It’s nothing worse than a minor disturbance that’s not really avoidable,” Story said.
Phillips assured Biola students that this stage of construction is nearly complete. He also shared some future deadlines that his team is working to meet.
“We expect excavation to be completed by the end of November. Lord willing, we will begin to see steel framing erected by the first of the year,” Phillips said. “We would appreciate your prayers for the safety of the workers and favorable weather as we approach winter.”
