A cornerstone of the project is the 28,000-square-foot Mason Hall, which will serve as the university's admissions and visitors center. PHOTO BY RICHARD CHENOWITH / COURTESY OF SHEPLEY BULFINCH RICHARDSON AND ABBOTT

By Greg Rienzi
The Gazette

As the big cranes and never-ending parade of trucks will attest, the construction of Homewood's Decker Quadrangle has shifted into high gear.

In the coming weeks, the site will undergo further excavation, and the construction of building foundations will begin. Work will soon commence on the concrete frame of the computational sciences building, which will house an interdisciplinary blend of faculty focused on the use of computing in research. The building will flank the eastern edge of the quad, stand three stories high and contain 79,000 square feet.

A cornerstone of the project, the 28,000-square-foot admissions and visitors center, has recently been named Mason Hall to honor the building's donors, Raymond A. "Chip" Mason, chairman of the university's board of trustees, and his wife, Rand. The building, viewed as Homewood's new front door, will house the Admissions Office, which is currently located in Garland Hall; an alumni board room; and an area that provides visitors with information on Johns Hopkins history, current research and the Homewood undergraduate experience.

Full-scale construction began in September on the new quad, which will rise to the west of Shriver Hall and will have Garland Hall on its northern edge. A three-level, 604-space garage will be underneath Decker Quad's grass field, flanked on the south by Mason Hall. Two sites on the quad will remain open for future development.

The Decker Quadrangle project is scheduled for completion in summer 2007.

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