Occupying the Annexes
UB Master of Architecture students prepare for pinups in Hayes Annex C. A number of undergraduate and graduate studios have decamped to the Hayes Annexes and Parker Hall during the Crosby Hall renovation. Photo by Anthony Bruma
by Bradshaw Hovey
Published September 21, 2021
Meanwhile, students who have been displaced from Crosby Hall for the next two academic years have not been forgotten.
University Facilities allocated up to one million dollars for renovations to make necessary – if temporary – improvements to “surge” spaces in Hayes Annexes B and C, Acheson Annex, and part of Parker Hall.
Most of the work was for demolition in Hayes Annexes B and C to create the same kind of large, open studio spaces students will enjoy after the return to Crosby. That required that the buildings be brought up to code on such issues as door widths and heights, fire-rated corridors, accessible water fountains and lavatories. The buildings also got expanded electrical service and fresh paint. Spray painting booths and double plaster sinks in Crosby have been replicated in Hayes Annex C.
Sophomore architecture students and those in the first year of the 3.5 year M. Arch. program will be located in Hayes Annex B. Junior and senior architecture students will be in Hayes Annex C. Acheson Annex will accommodate freshmen architecture students.
All these groups will be back in Crosby Hall for the start of the 2023-2024 academic year.
A shared media lab dedicated to SMART (Sustainable Manufacturing and Robotic Technology), a collaborative effort between the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Architecture and Planning, will be replicated in rooms 52 and 54 of Parker Hall, which required installation of air conditioning, new wired networking, swipe access, electrical updates, and new paint and carpeting.
After students move back into Crosby Hall, it is expected that the Hayes annexes, which were installed on South Campus during the rapid growth of UB in 1965, will be demolished. Acheson Annex will remain as future surge space for renovations in Parker Hall.
The planned renovation of Parker Hall, where the School of Social Work will be consolidated, has been deferred pending the arrival of that school’s new dean and resolution of budgetary issues. When completed, the School of Architecture and Planning will occupy the basement and re-occupy high-bay space on the south side of the building, home of the School's making facilities, including the Fabrication Workshop and SMART Fabrication Factory.