Residence Life Renovation Blog

After walking through Dobson last week, it is obvious that the Hall is close to completion.  Construction crews are putting the final touches on the building, systems are being tested, and new furniture is being moved into the building.  Looking back at some of the photos from the first post, it is amazing to see how far things have developed. 

Dobson double with furniture.

Dobson Double with furniture.  Each resident gets: chair, desk, shelf, personal drawer, wardrobe, and lofted bed.  Roommates will share a chest of drawers (3 or 4 drawers).

Dobson double facing the door.

Dobson triple with furniture.

Dobson triple with furniture.

The new furniture for the lounges has already arrived and stared to be placed in the floor lounges.

There will be a mix of rolling work chairs and sofa chairs for residents to use in the lounges to either study at the tables or watch a movie on the flat panel TV.

A look into a completed kitchen that is attached to the lounge by a double door.

Kitchens will be complete with full-size fridge/freezer, ice machine, range top, oven, and sink.

Here is a Study Room with its chairs just waiting for a table and some hard working residents.

Here we are looking into the Main Lounge if you were walking in the main entrance.

Now looking the other way in the Main Lounge, towards the Hall Desk and main entrance.

Here is a look at the Hall Desk and the new entrance (glass doors) that leads to the back of Dobson Hall. The red door leads to the 1 South hallway and rooms in the 1200 and 1300 wings.

Here is a look at the laundry room.  You can see where all the water hookups are for the washers, the dryers will be located behind the photographer.

Here is a look into the C-Store and where the fridges will be located.

This is the Dobson Multi-Purpose Room.  It will be a great place within Dobson for meetings, programs, and other events.  Any organization or group will be able to reserve it through the Student Union Building’s Virtual EMS reservation system.

After a busy end of the year, we finally got a chance to walk through Dobson Hall again and see all the progress that has been over the past two months.  There a lot of "final touches" being completed on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors including the installation of ceiling tiles, paint, carpeting, and even furniture has started to move back into Dobson.  There has been a lot of progress, so please stay tuned as the project nears completion.

For those of you who are looking at the Dobson Blog for the first time because you have just recently been placed in Dobson Hall as an incoming freshman, take time to look back at some of the previous posts and see the great changes that are being made to your new home.  When you come to visit at Summer Orientation we’ll have a Staff Member there who will have more pictures and plans, will try to help explain what Dobson will look like on move-in day, and will help answer any questions you might have.  So take some time to see what your new home is going to look like!

The installation of the 2nd floor’s ceiling, along with a new fire system, lighting, and the blue paint on the door frames will serve as an accent color for this floor.

A construction worker is hard at work installing the new carpet on 3rd Floor.  The dark carpet will be the base carpet for all the hallways and resident rooms in Dobson.  The green carpet is the accent color for the 3rd Floor.

The 3 North computer station now has its counter top installed.  Each floor will have 4 computers, 2 by each lounge, for resident use.  These computers will be networked to a printer at the Hall Desk where you can collect your printed materials.

The 3 North Kitchen with its countertop, cabinets, and floor tile all installed.  There will be a kitchen on every floor with a fridge, stove top, oven and sink for public use.  These double doors lead right into the 3 North Lounge.

Here is the 3 North Lounge with the green accent carpet already installed.  The wall this picture is facing will have a flat panel TV mounted onto it.

A 4th Floor room already has all of its furniture placed in it, but not assembled yet.

Here is a 4th floor room with just the wardobes installed.  All the furniture in Dobson is freestanding, so you can arrange your room any way you want to.

Here is the door wall of a Dobson room, complete with brand new towel racks!

Here is a cooling unit used for Dobson rooms, complete with a thermostat to allow you to set the temperature in your room.

Here is the new stone work that has been installed in the Main Lounge. There will be a Flat Panel TV installed on this wall as well as a gas fire place.

Once again you see where the fireplace and TV will be, and in the distance where resident mailboxes will be located.

Another walk around an under construction Dobson Hall shows that the mechanical work appears to be moving swiftly along.  Almost all the piping and HVAC has been laid or hung, and they are now installing the units that will allow every resident to control the temperature of their own room.  The work on the administrative wing (where the offices and multipurpose room will be located) moves swiftly along with the removal of old mechanical machines.  The new mechanical room (located where the old computer lab and pool table used to be) is full of brand new machines and pipes to ensure the safety and comfort of the entire building and the residents.  Here are some pictures from our latest visit and at the bottom you will notice a lot of new 3-D images.

Third Floor South Lounge looking into the kitchen.

Third Floor South Lounge facing the wall that will have the TV.

The Main Lounge’s fireplace has now been installed.

The Laundry Room room that will be located in the Northeast corner of the First Floor.

The Student Advisor, Hall Director and Community Coordinator Offices in the Administrative Wing.

In the Mechanical Room there will be a lot of pipework to opperate the cooling system.

The new electrical system installed to keep the lights on.

Below are some more 3-D renderings of a renovated Dobson.

Dobson Main Lounge: from the main entrance

Dobson Main Lounge: from the hall desk

Dobson Main Lounge: from the mailboxes

Dobson Main Lounge: from the elevator looking at the hall desk and main entrance

Dobson Floor Lounge with kitchen: standing at the entrance

Dobson Floor Lounge with kitchen: facing the TV

Dobson Floor Lounge with kitchen: facing the entrance

Dobson Floor Lounge with kitchen: kitchen

Dobson Floor Lounge with study lounge: facing the study lounge

Dobson Floor Lounge with study lounge: in the study lounge

Dobson Triple: Overhead View

Dobson Triple: Floor Level View

Our latest walk through Dobson Hall has allowed us to view what colors will be accenting the hallways.  There has also been a tremendous amount of work on the first floor in the location of the main entryway, main lounge, convenience store, laundry room, hall offices, and the multipurpose room.  Also since the last post, the 2009-2010 Dobson Hall Staff was named, consisting of twelve excited Student Advisors and a Community Coordinator.  Now all that is left is the completion of the building…

The Truman State University Residence Life Website has an updated building map of Dobson Hall after renovation, feel free to check it out!

2009-2010 Dobson Hall Community Coordinator Claire Hof looks through the 4 South Study Lounge windows.  Be sure to notice the purple accent colors that will be on the 4th Floor.

The 3rd Floor will have a green accent color.

The 2nd Floor will have a Blue Accent color.  (Not shown: the 1st Floor accent will be red)

This is the Main Lounge, as if you were standing at the Hall Desk.  Along the right hand side will be a fireplace and TV.  In the background you can see where the mailboxes will be located.

Here is a close up of the mailboxes, which will be located in the Main Lounge across from the Convenience Store.

Welcome to a new year in the Dobson Renovation.  2009 brought more developments in the renovation project.  Drywall is starting to be installed.  Workers are also starting to install new plumbing parts including some of the drinking fountains.  The new electrical boxes have been installed in the past month, and it looks like the building is coming along smoothly. 

When Dobson opens in the fall, the communities will be split into upperclassmen and first year communitiies.  So when reading the blog, keep in mind that floors 1 and 3 will be for upperclassmen and floors 2 and 4 for first years.  At the bottom of this entry you will see some 3-D designs of what a double room in Dobson will look like in August.  If you have any questions, comments, or requests, please feel free to comment on the blog!

Looking down the hallways towards the lounge with new doorframes and drywall installed.

Double room with the drywall around the HVAC installed.  Just waiting for paint and carpet.

New handicap acessable drinking fountain located between the lounge and kitchen.

Looking through the doorway into the new fridge of the C-Store that will be located just off the Main Lounge.

The main entryway into Dobson.

Below are a couple 3-D images of a double room in Dobson.  Expect a few more 3-D images in coming weeks of the new lounges and entryway will look like.

Overhead view (includes desk, chair, warddrobe, and lofted bed which can be de-lofted)

View from doorway towards window.

View from window towards the door.