Two years after the Syracuse University Quad was officially named and dedicated to former Chancellor Kenneth “Buzz” Shaw, a bench has been installed in front of Hendricks Chapel in Shaw’s honor.

During the 2010 dedication ceremony, preliminary plans were in the works to build an official monument to mark the name change.

“The plan was to erect a bench at the base of the Quad in front of Hendricks Chapel,” said Rex Giardine, assistant director for capital projects at the Office of Campus Planning, Design, and Construction. “It was important for the bench to be in a very prominent location. This particular step in the project started back in early fall of this year and was relatively fast-moving.”

The initial stages of construction included replacing portions of the sidewalk in front of Hendricks Chapel back in late summer. The granite bench was specially ordered and the construction workers poured a concrete foundation for it, said Giardine.

When the construction team was replacing the sidewalks, electricity was wired out so that the LED lights could be installed within the panels. The backside of the bench features the name Shaw Quadrangle in bold lettering.

“Our intentions coming in were to dedicate a well-thought-out monument to Ken,” Giardine said. “The project is almost complete and we’re very happy with the results.”

While there was certainly lag time between the dedication ceremony and the construction of the bench, the highest-quality construction was desired, said Kevin Quinn, senior vice president for public affairs.

“It obviously took some time to get from conception to design to installation, then construction. We just wanted to make sure that the monument was perfect,” Quinn said.

Brenda Law, manager of design and documentation in the Office of Campus Planning, Design, and Construction, designed the bench, said director Eric Beattie in an email. The bench itself is made from a granite species from Vermont and was chosen because of its flecks of orange. It was milled and installed by the local masonry business Turner Stone Co.

Recessed into the granite beneath the bench are engraved glass panels, made by local glass carver Jerome Durr, Beattie said. The panels are backlit with energy-efficient LED lights that are controlled by photocells.

The lighting color range and intensity are programmable and will be fine-tuned to provide a warm glow over the next few weeks, Beattie said.

The permanent bench was installed this year, and pole banners were initially placed around the Quad in November 2010 to inform people of the new name, according to a 2010 press release.

Some students admired the new bench and commented that it was the first time they were informed of the official Shaw Quadrangle name.

“I think they did a great job on the bench,” said Garrett Braddock, sophomore television, radio and film major. “To be honest, I didn’t even know the Quad had an official name.”

 

Published on November 5, 2012 at 11:39 pm

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