Union officials and contractors met Thursday morning in the Student Union against a backdrop of piled up orange seats and stripped walls. Seated in the only chairs not yet extracted, they began their first construction meeting concerning the Union Theater. The meeting was conducted by Keith Steger of HMS Architects, who led the attendees through a largely procedural function. Faithfully following the meeting agenda, Steger discussed the process of filing change orders and new submittals. The construction of new catwalks, the installation of duct work and the coordination of lights and sprinklers were all discussed. Because it was the first official meeting since construction began, none of these topics were explained in detail.The demolition phase of the renovations began Sept. 11, and since then most of the seats have been removed, and the walls have been stripped bare. Demolition is expected to take another month.”We’re off and running,” said Thomas Rish, senior manager of the division of administration facility planning and control. “We’ve got everyone going in a direction to get moving, and I think we’ll do that quite rapidly.”The $24.3 million project is expected to take about 18 months and will end sometime in February 2010. We’re hoping it will go a little smoother than the main building,” said Ken Bueche, Union associate director. “We’re not trying to work and occupy the building at the same time.”Bueche said, one of the main objectives of the renovations is to improve the natural acoustics of the theater by narrowing the walls and raising the ceiling. A new air handling system, designed for theatrical venues, will also be installed. By pumping the same volume of air at slower speeds, the new system can run more quietly during performances.The front of the theater will be extended about 12 feet and will include a new entrance tunnel leading into the box office. Officials hope the new box office location will help control traffic before performances.When complete, the theater will have a wide glass facade to complement the main building. Because the state requires 1 percent of the project budget be spent on art, officials expect to commission a piece to hang inside the main lobby.”We haven’t decided what we’ll have made yet,” said Shirley Plakidas, Union director. “But we think that we’ll have it hang in the front lobby so that it can be see through the new glass.”Plans for theater renovations were originally designed in 1999. These original plans paved the way for renovations to the rest of the Union in 2006. Following the rise in cost for construction materials after Hurricane Katrina, theater construction was put on the backburner.”I was very excited to have that meeting,” Plakidas said. “Hopefully when we get the theater up and running, students will be able to feel a sense of ownership with the building again.”—-Contact Adam Duvernay at [email protected]