Ohio State has announced a renovation project of the Wexner Center for the Arts. The infrastructure upgrades will begin with a research and design phase this autumn and construction is projected to start in the beginning of 2002.Building improvements will focus on heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems and light control, said Dave Ferguson, associate vice president for University Relations. “The storage in the basement needs proper air ventilation. We need to make sure what is there is useful for a long period of time,” Ferguson said. “The electricity must be up to where it needs to be for today’s center activities.”The exterior of the building will receive touch-ups as well because of minor leaks that need to be repaired. OSU dedicated the Wexner Center in November 1989. Even before the dedication, the center shifted from a contemporary visual arts center to a fully multidisciplinary facility. The result was three program areas consisting of visual arts, performing arts and media arts – all equally important to the center’s identity.The facility now features Mershon Auditorium, which seats 2,000 with a full proscenium stage, an art and technology studio for post-production of film and video, galleries with about 12,000 square feet of space, a film/video theater which seats 278, a “black box” performance space, a bookshop and a cafe. The center also offers an extensive selection of educational and interpretive programs, including tours, children’s workshops, creative activities for adults and gallery talks. “When the Wexner Center was initially designed, it was anticipated that the artistic program would focus primarily on experimental work,” commented Sherri Geldin, director of the Wexner Center in a statement. “As the program of the center has evolved to include a broader range of artistic presentation, it has become essential that the physical facilities comply with prevailing industry standards for such activities,” she said.”As a signature piece of architecture on campus, and Ohio State’s principal venue for highly acclaimed arts programs, the Wexner Center must uphold the highest professional standards in all aspects of its operations,” said OSU President William “Brit” Kirwan in the statement.The engineering team engaged in the upgrades is composed of Simpson, Gumpertz & Heger Inc. from Arlington, Mass., Jaros, Baum and Bolles from New York, and E. Vernon Johnson & Associates from Boston. The team was selected by the university through a national search. They were chosen for their collective expertise in projects such as The Smithsonian Institution, Fogg Art Museum in Harvard, Mass., Louvre Museum in Paris and Epcot Center in Fla., amongst many others. “It has been a genuine source of joy to me to watch the center outgrow the architectural notoriety of its beginning and burgeon into a preeminent cultural institution,” said architect Peter Eisenman in the statement, who along with the late Richard Trott, designed the Wexner Center. “I fully support these engineering improvements, and have the highest regard for the professional team engaged to undertake the work.”The renovations will not affect Mershon Auditorium and the Wexner Center plans to continue active programming at this and alternate venues during construction.