Consultants have begun to assemble the physical scaled model of the lower Mississippi River that will be one of the star attractions of the new Water Campus.
Though the LSU Center for River Studies building that will house the 90-by-120-foot model was completed in October, the actual model and exhibition will not be ready for several more months, according to a spokesperson for the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, which is overseeing construction of the project.
That’s because assembling the model and exhibition, which will be used as both a research tool for scientists and an educational attraction for the general public, is a complex undertaking. Before even beginning to assemble the model, which is made up of 216 foam panels measuring 5-by-10-feet. They will sit on adjustable steel frames, work crews had to install 20 high-resolution projectors on the ceiling of the building that will work in conjunction with the model to show the impact of various projects on the lower river delta.
“The shell of the building is complete, but the model routing, assembly and calibration will take another couple of months at least before it is operational and ready to open,” says Chuck Perrodin, a spokesman for the CPRA.
Massachusetts-based Alden Research Laboratory is spearheading construction of the model, which will be operated by LSU. The total cost of the building, including construction of the model and exhibition, is some $16 million.
While work is being done on the interior of the LSU Center for River Studies building, work crews are continuing construction on the exterior of the Water Campus’ signature building on the site of the old city dock. The Education and Research Center, which will also house The Water Institute of the Gulf, is scheduled to be completed later this year.
The first building at the 27-acre Water Campus, a $9 million office building that houses the CPRA, was completed last summer.
Plans for the Water Campus were unveiled in Dec. 2013. The project is the brainchild of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation and represents a coming together of multiple interests: State government, BRAF, the CPRA, city-parish, LSU and the Water Institute.
—Stephanie Riegel
