SUNY Geneseo cut the ribbon today to officially open the renovated Bailey Hall on campus, now home to four social science departments: anthropology, geography, psychology and sociology.
The building originally opened in 1965 as the Bailey science building, housing physical sciences such as chemistry, biology and physics, but when the Integrated Science Center opened its doors in 2006, the physical sciences moved there, allowing the college to begin the Bailey Hall renovation. The result is a larger, more energy-efficient building containing modern classrooms, offices and laboratory space. The $23-million project was completed in about two years, funded by the State University Construction Fund.
“The Bailey Hall renovation has gone very smoothly and provides both students and faculty in the type of space they need for effective learning and research activities,” said Carol S. Long, interim Geneseo president. “Like all of our newer buildings, we incorporated energy-efficiency into the new Bailey to support our campus sustainability initiatives.”
Energy-efficient aspects of the 120,000 sq. ft. building include heat-pump technology, the use of Energy Star equipment and natural light treatments such as skylights to illuminate interior spaces. The building is certified silver for LEED design. LEED — Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design — is a rating system devised by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) to evaluate the environmental performance of a building and encourage market transformation towards sustainable design.
The four social sciences departments in Bailey Hall comprise 977 majors at Geneseo: 686 in psychology, 115 in sociology, 96 in anthropology and 80 in geography.
The general contractor for the project was the Fahs Construction Group, based in Binghamton. The architect was SWBR Architects from Rochester.
Photos: (L) Bailey Hall interior, (R) Cutting the ribbon to reopen Bailey Hall today were (L to R) Richard Gangemi from Fahs Construction Group; Iain Tait from SWBR Architects; Randy Sickler from SWBR Architects, State Sen. Pat Gallivan; SUNY Geneseo President Carol S. Long; State Sen. Catharine Young; Geneseo Mayor Dick Hatheway; David Norton, assistant director of facilities planning at the college; and Bryan Jackson, a site representative in the college's facilities services department.