UF to dedicate Charles R. Perry Construction Yard

April 4, 2007

WHAT: The Charles R. Perry Construction Yard will be formally dedicated to the University of Florida in a ceremony presided over by UF President Bernie Machen. The yard has UF’s first green roof, a sustainable structure that also will be used for research.

WHEN: Monday, April 9. Ceremony begins at 4 p.m.

WHERE: The construction yard is located adjacent to Rinker Hall on the UF campus. Rinker Hall is on the corner of Newell Drive and Inner Road. Parking is available in parking garage 4 at the corner of Museum Road and Newell Drive with a guest parking pass (call for pass to be e-mailed or faxed to you).

WHO: Program includes:

Bernie Machen, president of the University of Florida

Christopher Silver, dean of the College of Design, Construction and Planning

Abdol Chini, director of the Rinker School of Building Construction

Nancy Perry, benefactor

Masonry demonstration by Abe Painter, longtime friend of Charles Perry

PHOTO OPPORTUNITY: At the conclusion of the ceremony, program participants will place a brick on the wall built during Abe Painter’s masonry demonstration.

BACKGROUND: The Perry Construction Yard is a demonstration area for crafts with an outdoor teaching amphitheater. The facility has a green roof, which is the first on UF’s campus. The construction yard houses the Charles R. Perry Program for Crafts Awareness, which comprises a hands-on approach to expose building construction students to the training, techniques, tools and materials used by master craftspeople in various trades. The program’s goal is to ensure that building construction graduates are able to understand the productivity they can expect from craftspeople, the training and trade organizations, and whether the work being produced meets good construction practice and satisfies building code requirements.