After a pipe fitting failed, the basement of the Art Building flooded with about four to five inches of water last Friday, Bruce Hoerning, assistant director of facilities, said.
“A contractor did a repair on a copper T fitting. They tried to energize the pipe with water and the T fitting failed,” Hoerning said. “The water was running for less than two minutes before they turned it off.”
Several instructors, including Darilyn Rowan, photography professor, didn’t have access to the basement until Wednesday morning. She did not have access to the photo labs although there were no damage to them.
The basement is currently open for access but one of the rooms, Art 1, is closed until further notice, as it received the most damage from the flood; some of the drywall and the ceiling have been damaged.
Contractors have been called in to assess and repair the damages.
“I’m enormously relieved that the wet lab and the digital photography labs weren’t flooded with water,” Rowan said. “I’m also glad that my students can continue to work on their projects and prepare for the fall student photo exhibit at Paul’s Photo Gallery in Torrance.”
These labs were designed about two years ago by Rowan and James F. Schwartz, a former interim dean of fine arts.
“I put my heart and soul into building these labs. I have spent hundreds of unpaid hours working on them,” Rowan said.
Some of the students on campus have mixed feelings about the recent mishaps, including the broken pipe in the Humanities Building.
“I think the art building is pretty run-down,” Ashley Blaney, art major, said. “I think it’s safe, though. I’m not scared to come to school or anything like that. These issues need to be brought up though.”
Some students were affected as their classes were canceled and the labs were closed.
“It was a little surprising because on Monday everything was blocked,” Sarah Edsinga, engineering major and teacher’s assistant of Rowan, said. “I couldn’t even go to my class, so I’m sure it affected a lot of other students as well.”
Due to the closure of the basement, Rowan could not have her guest speaker Melissa Roth, a renowned photojournalist for the New York Times and the L.A. Times, speak last Friday; however, it did get postponed to tomorrow.
“In the end, the most important people on campus are the students. I’m very happy that the photo lab is working. I want to thank everyone in facilities in getting the photography division up and running,” Rowan said.