Three years ago, when I first showed up the summer before my freshman year here at N.C . State, Hillsboro was torn to shreds, traffic was horrendous and trying to find a place to park was about as easy as figuring out where the heck to start on my transport homework.
Sometime in the next year construction began in the Court of Carolina. A nice grassy field was turned into a dust bowl with huge Caterpillar eyesores, and during the day the loud noises could be heard in all of the nearby buildings. Around the same time as this, the renovation on the Atrium began with the added benefit of that atrocious bubble right smack in the middle of the Brickyard.
Last spring, construction began beneath Harrelson Hall to allow for the demolition of the bookstore which made sure to always be pounding away on something during my class and I think they even kept track of when we had tests and liked to really get things done during those times just to mess with us.
Over the summer, the bookstore was demolished and infrastructure work for the future Talley began. This made the trekking from Carmichael to the library a new adventure nearly every other week and took what was a decent looking yard and fountain and turned into a typical muddy construction site.
There’s no doubt in my mind that I defiantly do not like dealing with constant construction projects around campus. However, when I look back at all of these things now, except tally which is still going on, I appreciate and enjoy what is there now. Hillsboro looks remarkably nice compared to what it was and parking on it is more accessible and easier to do that it was in the past.
The stair addition in the Court of Carolina adds a feeling of majesty to the area and looking up at the 1911 building has an aesthetic appeal that it did not have before. The new Atrium is nice with plenty of outdoor seating thanks to the terrace which is a fantastic addition to the Brickyard both for its practicality and for our viewing pleasure. The plans for future Talley look great and once the project is complete no one will care about the nuisance that was the time of construction.
Considering how ugly and construction is, I don’t blame anyone for complaining during it. I would encourage everyone, however, to think about the long term. With the growing student body and the constant need for updating there will always be something under construction. Whether it’s a parking deck, renovations, or the demolition of a building, I’m looking at you Harrelson, construction is something we have to learn how to deal with but we should be glad that we get to live with it.
The product of construction is what makes what make our university shine. It gives us more space so that we don’t have to sit in overcrowded rooms, it makes old buildings shine like new again, and it can take an empty space and make it beautiful with a new natural area as has been done next to Turlington Hall. So next time your walking route has to be changed unexpectedly, you get caught in a long line of cars because of some flagmen, or you experience some obnoxious noise during class, remember what it is for and appreciate what will soon come of it.