The David Haviland ’64 Fountain located behind the Commons Dining Hall has been under construction since late August, and is estimated to be operational before Family Weekend in late October.
The area behind Commons has been a project for RPI since 2004, when the administration, in collaboration with Student Senate, decided to beautify Freshman Hill. When the money left by the class of 2005—as a gift to honor David Haviland ’64—was integrated into this project, plans for the Haviland Fountain were put together. Vice President for Administration Claude Rounds commented that the original fountain structure was “a nice feature and looked great,” but that it also had certain flaws.
The fountain has not been operational since it collapsed in July of last year. The collapse was due to design flaws and a general failure to withstand abuse, according to Rounds. He commented that the plastic liner “wasn’t robust,” and the wall of the fountain was unavailing. In summary, Rounds stated, “The original design of the fountain could not survive the wear and tear of the area. That structure was more of a ‘backyard design,’ as opposed to what we need for a public space.”
Plans for the new structure were discussed late in the spring semester and the fountain was temporarily turned into a flower bed during the time surrounding Commencement. Unfortunately, due to the unavailability of pool contractors that time and conflicting summer activities such as the Student Orientation sessions, construction had to be delayed until the start of this semester.
Director of Environmental and Site Services Jerry Faiola gave details of the new structure and discussed its improvements over the original fountain. The new fountain will have piping with a larger circumference. He also stated the new fountain is being built with 12-inch thick walls, with rebar running through it. Though the new structure will look similar to the original one, the design was improved to ensure the fountain will be, according to Rounds, “a more permanent feature of the campus.” He then commented, “It is a much more robust design. We got it right this time.”
School House Pools, Inc. was the pool contractor that was chosen to work on the reconstruction of the fountain; the total cost of the renovations is estimated to be around $80,000 from the allotted Institute construction budget.
Rounds and Faiola feel that once construction is complete, the fountain will not experience the same problems as last time. “Our students are very respectful to the campus as a whole, and I don’t think we have to worry about any vandalism or further problems around the fountain,” remarked Rounds.
Construction of the improved Haviland Fountain will be finished within a few weeks, according to Rounds, and if all goes according to plan, will be running in time for Family Weekend in late October and will continue to run through mid-November when it will be shut down for the winter months. The fountain will be reopened in mid-April.
