The ambitious renovation of Peirce Hall was top-to-bottom. Chandeliers were cleaned and rewired. Ceiling insulation mutes what was once a rising cacophony of voices and crashing cutlery. A tray conveyor was removed from the Great Hall, as was the adjoining dishwashing room. The floor was stripped and refinished.
Peirce and Dempsey, a combined 66,401 square feet, have new electrical and plumbing systems, with rest rooms on every floor. The buildings are fully air-conditioned, protected by fire-safety sprinklers, and equipped for wireless Internet access. A coat room was added off the Borden Atrium. Five offices for student activities were carved into the third floor, and the famed tower was closed for fire safety.
The sandstone on the exterior walls was power-washed and tuck-pointed. Expanded portions were clad in stone from the original Ohio quarries of the Briar Hill Stone Company. Slate from the rooftops was reused and more added from its Vermont source.