The UNM Art Building is slowly sinking.
The three-story building, which is home to the art department’s faculty, staff, labs and classrooms, has experienced worsening structural problems for nearly two years, according to art professor Adrienne Salinger.
Salinger said the building is dangerous to students and staff.
“The Art Building doesn’t appear to be structurally sound,” she said. “Several of the workers who insisted on anonymity were shocked that we are still occupying the building in this condition when I spoke with them over the last couple weeks.”
Student John Acosta said he doesn’t feel safe walking around the building.
“The floor is sinking, the walls are leaking, everything is really dusty, and it’s kind of nerve-wracking to walk on, to be honest,” he said.
Salinger said the art department has sought help from UNM’s Physical Plant Department (PPD) numerous times.
“Finally, on the Friday before classes began, people showed up,” she said. “After jack-hammering through our studio floor, it was discovered that the floor contained no rebar, no reinforcement of any kind. There are large gaps between the floor and the walls, and between the floor and the dirt beneath the building. It’s not safe, and it’s preposterous that we are trying to teach around the demolition and Band-Aid restoration.”
PPD director Mary Vosevich said her staff was analyzing the building’s foundation.
“We have sent a structural engineer to evaluate the foundation,” she said. “He will recommend a solution to us, and then we will take the necessary steps to address the problem.”
Last week, PPD decided to fill in the gap between the dirt and the load-bearing walls with concrete, but Salinger said this is a temporary solution to a larger problem.
“Applying provisional fixes to the ground floor of a three-story building at this point seems too little, too late,” she said.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
“Each problem that is discovered uncovers more complications, often unrelated, yet all supporting the claim that the building is significantly damaged.”
Salinger said the metals and sculpture studios, a small photography classroom, and the print room all showed signs of structural damage.
“When it rains, water gets in the print room,” graduate student Frol Boundin said. “It’s not just the photography floor, it’s the entire building.”
Vosevich said there is currently no danger to students or staff, and that the building is operational, but Salinger said the art staff has been left in the dark.
“We’re being told officially that the building is ‘stable,’” Salinger said. “We don’t know what that means. We feel ill-informed and increasingly mistrustful. No one is clear about who is in charge as the leadership seems to shift. There is a clear lack of concern for the people who use this building.”
Salinger said the department either needed to be relocated or classes cancelled until the building is satisfactorily repaired.
“The University’s lack of commitment to the program and its facility is startling, especially when we have such a successful program,” she said. “The students are loyal to the program, but fearful of the facilities. Their work is suffering by not having a studio or adequate working spaces.”
Vosevich said she does not know at this point what would be done about the department.
“It’s a large campus and there is a lot to maintain,” she said.
“We focus on preventative maintenance. Ensuring that all of our systems are running correctly can save us a lot of money. If we can make buildings last longer, we don’t have to replace them as often, and with a limited budget like the current (one), that is very important.”
