The autumn colours have already started to fade, as this month marks a full year since major construction started at the new facility. A year ago there was a parking lot where the office in which this blog is now being written and published once was. While progress on the ground has seemed to drag, looking over the photos of the past year it is actually quite remarkable how much has been accomplished and how many people have been involved in the process. We've met and engaged with individuals from departments across campus and the London community on a daily basis - from UWO Research Services, Purchasing and Finance Departments, Facilities Management, ITS, Security, and the Faculty of Social Science, to the architects and engineers at Spriet Associates and Integrated Engineering, Tonda Construction, Brad Baker, Shamrock Mechanical, CHUBB security, JPW Systems, the City of London, and a host of sub-contractors who've done everything from install our doors to sprayed fire-retardant insulation, poured concrete and planted our trees. We spent months with Thames Office Systems and Spacesaver as our shelving was installed and tweaked. We've met a lot of wonderful people who have been patient, knowledgeable, professional and instrumental in the success of this first stage of our development - our thanks go out to them for the long hours they've put in, the hurdles they've helped us over, their patience and their good sense of humour. Thanks as well to the Museum of Ontario Archaeology - we've used and altered their space, ripped apart their walls, muddied their floors, and intruded on their peace and quiet. We look forward to making it worth the effort :)
