What has a 426-seat auditorium, two classrooms with 173 seats each, 20 other classrooms with 37 to 124 seats each, a teaching and learning lab, and one special beam?
The $86 million Teaching and Learning Complex, or TLC: the Davis campus’s first general classroom building in more than 50 years, under construction next to the Silo in the center of campus. Workers recently hoisted the special beam and set it in place in one of the last phases of steel construction for the 101,663-gross-square-foot, four-story structure.
The beam wasn’t the last one to go up, nor does it sit at the top of the building. So, instead of a “topping-off” ceremony, Design and Construction Management gathered signatures of students, faculty and staff — about 160 people in all — to be affixed to the beam, a signature beam, if you will. It will be forever visible as part of the canopy at the building’s southeast entrance.
“I participated because I thought that it would be a cool way to leave a mark on campus,” said Josh Hoye ’23, who in late July answered the campus's invitation to everyone to submit their signatures electronically. “I’m really glad that it worked out, I think it’s an interesting legacy to have around campus.”
Signature of commitment
Christine Knobel, an alumna who is a lecturer in the Department of Design, had the opportunity to attend the in-person signing event, Aug. 4. Attendance was limited, because of the pandemic.
“UC Davis has given me so much: community, support and encouragement to pursue my dreams,” said Knobel ’16 (Bachelor of Arts in design) and M.F.A. ’18. “Having the opportunity to sign the TLC topping-off beam was another way I could commit to this incredible institution.”
Hoye, who is double-majoring in international relations and French, also noted the UC Davis influence in his life: “My grandfather attended Davis, ’55. To me, my signature on the beam represents all the hard work that I put in to getting here.”
His and Knobel’s signatures now live among those of Gary S. May, chancellor; Mary Croughan, provost and executive vice chancellor, and her predecessor, Ralph J. Hexter; and Pablo Reguerín, vice chancellor of Student Affairs — among the 40 or so people who registered for the in-person event. They signed their names on decals that had been preprinted with about 120 other signatures, those that came in online.
On and under the canopy
The contractor will affix the decals to the 18-foot-long beam when other construction in the vicinity of the canopy is completed, and thus cannot damage the signatures.
Still to come atop the canopy: photovoltaic panels, generating power to offset the building’s energy consumption. And under the canopy: stadium seating — a place for students to study and hang out — and a stairway to the TLC’s second floor. A balcony at the top of the stairs will offer a good vantage point to see the signature beam.
The TLC will see thousands of students climbing those stairs daily, considering the auditorium and classrooms will have a capacity of just under 2,000 at any one time. The building is due to open in the spring of 2022.
What’s inside?
Another person who signed in person, Professor Emeritus Ken Burtis, former faculty advisor to the chancellor and provost, gave two reasons for the pride he feels in having his name associated w