News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Tennessee Tech is designing some $3 million of renovations to the Derryberry Hall and Bryan Fine Arts Auditoriums.
Capital Projects Director Jim Cobb said the main improvement will be replacing the seating.
“The seating in the Bryan Fine Arts is original to when the building was constructed, and we occupied that building in the early 80’s,” Cobb said. “The seats in the Derryberry Hall auditorium were refurbished several years ago. Those seats are pretty narrow in today’s standards.”
Cobb said the seating will have ADA access and a slight reduction from the current capacity. Cobb said some other aesthetic improvements will also be made such as painting, flooring and finishes to the ceiling.
Cobb said he estimates the final designs will take about a year to complete. Cobb said one challenge the university will have to navigate is coordinating the two projects so that both auditoriums are not closed at the same time.
“We will have to complete one, open it and then, complete the other, because there would be a huge impact to the music folks that use the auditorium at Bryan Fine Arts,” Cobb said. “Derryberry Hall auditorium is their backup.”
Cobb said the university would also have to consider the student organization SOAR that often uses Derryberry auditorium for student orientations.
Cobb said the funding for both projects have been secured through the state. Cobb said Derryberry has $1.5 million and Bryan Fine Arts has $1.6 million.
