University Times

Two new nationality classrooms are in the planning stages, and two others long in the planning are nearing completion.

The Danish Room committee and the Swiss Room committee each made the $5,000 "declaration of gift" to the University, the first official step in joining the famous family of classrooms, according to E. Maxine Bruhns, Nationality Rooms Program director.

Last summer, Frans Jahger, chair of the Danish Room committee, traveled to Denmark to consult with members of the Royal Danish School of Architecture on design plans. The room will be housed in 335 Cathedral of Learning (CL). No date is set for completion.

In November, Heinz W. Kunz, chair of the Swiss Room committee, met in Washington, D.C., with the head of the Swiss Embassy's cultural section to help plan the design and building of the Swiss Room. The room, which will be housed in 321 CL, is expected to be completed in three to four years.

Meanwhile, the Japanese Room is in the final design stage, with architect Hirokazu Nagase putting last-minute touches on the drawings in Kyoto, Japan. As soon as final drawings are approved, construction for the room will begin, Bruhns said. In Kyoto, carpenters will assemble the entire free-standing structure, then dismantle it, pack it and ship it to Pittsburgh for re-assembling. Three Kyoto carpenters will come to Pittsburgh to oversee the re-assembly.

One challenge the builders face is reconstruction of a 22-foot beam, too large to go around the Cathedral's corridor corners.

While construction is underway in Kyoto, architect Norman Harai will direct infrastructure construction — heating, air conditioning and lighting — in Pittsburgh. The room, which will be housed in 316-317 CL, is expected to open this summer.

Bruhns said the Indian Nationality Room is expected to be dedicated this August. Preparation of the site, rooms 326 and 327 CL, is nearly complete. The wall between the two rooms had to be torn down and asbestos had to be removed from the ceilings. Tedco Corp., contractor for the Israel Heritage and African Heritage rooms, will oversee construction of architect Deepak Wadhwani's design. The four rooms will bring the number of nationality rooms to 28. –Peter Hart n