COM in the Cobb Building: A Remarkable Renovation in Record Time
The venerable W. Montague Cobb Building, a structure that houses a variety of University administrative and operational departments, has undergone a radical change. The reason? Based on the need for temporary housing of the new independent 4-year MD program, a plan based on the most effective reuse of existing space was crafted and executed posthaste, both with dispatch as well as sensitivity for the structural integrity of the building and the presence of the other administrative departments ranging from President David Carlisle’ s Executive Suite to the University Library.
emeritus faculty member, Dr. Arthur Fleming.
Sheryl Ho, COM Chief of Staff charged with leading the makeover, agreed that while well planned, the re-engineering of the COM space effort had the characteristic of a whirlwind when the renovation actually started.“ It was a quick turnaround, given the momentous task of sorting out active and discarded materials, assigning space to staff, accounting for their assignments while they primarily worked from
To anyone familiar with how Cobb looked prior to the new vision, the change is an effective makeover in a short span of time, as well as displaying a visual uplift to an edifice that was one of the first buildings erected on campus two generations ago. In the first floor space occupied by the College of Medicine, numerous operations and program-related quarters have been carved out of places that previously served other purposes.
The reconfiguration was done with the primary purpose of crafting the most functional space available to operate the new MD program, its allied affiliate programs such as the various postdoctoral residencies, and to create additional safe spaces available for staff work and student training. Centerpiece of the makeover is the large multipurpose classroom carrying the name of the outstanding
CDU College of Medicine | PG. 11