Pitzer began construction on four new buildings over winter break. The new buildings, located just north of the school’s most recently constructed residence halls, will house 308 students, as well as a number of offices, study rooms and archive rooms.

The college plans to have the new buildings certified LEED Platinum, the highest ranking possible from the United States Green Building Council. Sustainable features include solar panels, a gray water reclamation system, low-flow water fixtures, and drip-irrigation for the landscape. For the project, the college has contracted PCL Construction, which has also worked on the greenhouse and the Joint Science modular units.

The buildings are on target to be completed in late spring or early summer of 2012. Pitzer students who are now in their first year will be able to live in the new residences in fall of their junior year.

This new construction constitutes the second phase of Pitzer’s Residential Life Project. The project began in 2000 with the development of the Campus Master Plan, a long-term plan to construct green buildings that enhance social space and increase residential capacity. Phase one was completed in 2005-2006 with the construction of Atherton Hall, Sanborn Hall, and Pitzer Hall.

The first three levels above the ground floor will be for residence hall rooms. The rooms will be similar to those built in phase one: mostly doubles with shared private bathrooms, and about 40 singles in mini-suites. Each small suite will house four students with a shared bathroom and common room.

The new buildings will also house the Institute for Global-Local Action and Studies (I-GLAS), a new department that integrates Pitzer’s Study Abroad and community engagement programs. I-GLAS offices will be located on the ground floor of one of the buildings.

The Intercollegiate Department of Media Studies, a 5C program based at Pitzer, will also relocate to the new buildings. The ground floor will feature editing rooms, studios, equipment rooms, staff offices, film-screening rooms, and an art gallery. It will include three small seminar classrooms, a digital photo lab, a computer lab, and a larger classroom and conference room.

The new buildings will also hold the Pitzer Archive, which will contain history from Pitzer’s founding to the present. Some items will be physically displayed, some will be in storage, and others will be available as multimedia.

Plans also include a state-of-the-art multimedia room, which can be used by faculty, classes, or for board meetings.

According to Pitzer Vice President of Student Affairs Jim Merchant, the administration’s goal is to create mixed-use spaces that encourage learning outside of the classroom. “I think it does create these spaces where people can be comfortable, and talk, and, not just socialize, but learn as well,” Merchant said. “We believe there is learning going on outside the classroom, so we’re trying to design these spaces where students actually talk and hopefully discuss current events, politics, whatever the issues are. We’re trying to improve the intellectual and academic environment on campus by having places where you can learn and study that aren’t just classrooms.”

Part of the Residential Life Project’s goal is to provide housing for 90 percent of its students. Currently, Pitzer provides on-campus housing for only 78 percent of its student body, compared to more than 90 percent at the rest of the 5Cs.

Despite general enthusiasm for the new buildings, some students and faculty have expressed concern over the project’s impact on the wilderness area known as the Outback, the undeveloped zone on the north-east corner of Pitzer’s campus. Approximately one-third of the area will be incorporated into the new residential life project.

Last fall, Pitzer Professor of Environmental Analysis Paul Faulstich taught a course titled “Restoring Nature in the Outback.” Some of his students were upset about the construction, and voiced their concerns to the administration in a December meeting. According to Faulstich, the original plan did not call for the buildings to extend as far north, but the city of Claremont and fire codes forced the college to shift the location.

“Some people really regard the Outback as a precious jewel on Pitzer’s campus. It’s actually a treasured resource, not just a place to get away from it all, but a place to engage oneself with nature. A dorm project I am supportive of, I’m just disappointed that this one played out the way it did,” said Faulstich.

After the new dorms are finished, the college plans to demolish Holden Hall, Pitzer’s oldest remaining residence hall.

Pitzer is also looking to move all parking to the edge of campus. The administration has a bid to purchase property to the east of Claremont Blvd., and has plans to put in parking lots and playing fields. Construction of the new buildings will take place every Monday through Friday starting at 7:00 a.m., except on holidays and during finals periods. The school has given free earplugs to all of its students.