July 19, 2017
Planned as a model for environmentally intelligent construction practices and providing expanded, modern space for biology, engineering, and psychology, Maxine Frank Singer '52 Hall will support the campus community by strengthening interdisciplinary connections between academic departments across the curriculum. This newsletter is one of a series of community updates about the project. We thank you for your continued cooperation and patience as this important effort gets underway. For additional information, visit the project website or email bep@swarthmore.edu. Please look for additional updates as construction progresses.
Enabling Work
As with any new building project, there are typically a number of preparatory items that must be addressed to enable construction, including:
- Site Security: Before construction can begin in earnest, the entire site must be secured with perimeter fencing in order to protect faculty, staff, students, and visitors. The fencing will also ensure that construction vehicles, personnel, and materials are contained and will not cause disruption to the campus at large. This effort also includes managing the mix of construction and non-construction traffic to, from, and within the north campus, which will be monitored closely to ensure the safety of the entire campus community. This includes the presence of a construction-traffic monitor located at the Elm Avenue entrance, who is helping to direct construction vehicles to their correct locations. There may be temporary intermittent delays for vehicles on Whittier Place. Please exercise caution when walking on paths adjacent to the construction site.
Start of Singer Hall Construction

Once the previously mentioned items are complete, the major construction activities for the new building will begin with the start of exterior demolition of Papazian Hall on July 22. (Portions of the existing façade will be salvaged for reuse.) Once Papazian Hall is fully removed in August, excavation will commence for the foundations of the new building. Hicks Hall will remain in operation until summer 2019.
Pearson Hall, Garden Level
The space is being renovated for academic use, including a new seminar room and a classroom. These renovations have been underway for nearly four weeks and will be completed by the start of the fall semester.