09/17/2007
OXFORD, Miss. – “Does it move?” That’s the first question
people usually ask of the recently installed 6 ft.-diameter
globe gracing the rotunda of renovated Bryant Hall at the
University of Mississippi.
“How fast does it move?” is usually the next question, said
William F. Lawhead, chair of the Department of Philosophy
and Religion. “Many students simply stop by to see if the
globe actually moves, then leave still wondering, because
the movement – which matches the Earth’s rotation – is
hardly visible to the human eye.”
The globe was designed by Todd Ulrich, president of
Cincinnati-based Worldfx Inc., which provides
state-of-the-art, real-world visualizations of the Earth
using satellite imagery.
“This is the largest, most detailed globe in the world
employing state-of-the-art satellite data and cartography
enabled by GIS software,” Ulrich said.
The globe, which took Ulrich nine months to construct, has
been creating as much buzz as Bryant Hall itself, which
underwent a complete renovation, including heartwood pine
flooring, a penny-tiled entrance hall, stained glass in its
rotunda and lavish furnishings by Shea-Moore Designs of
Memphis.
Built in 1911, the building originally housed the
University Library, Medical School Library, University
Museum, and reading rooms and faculty offices, said Gerald
Walton, provost emeritus and professor emeritus of English.
“About one year later, they installed gymnastic equipment
for women to exercise and the unused basement became known
as the women’s gym.”
In 1951, the departments of Speech, Theatre and Art moved
into the hall and it became known as the Fine Arts
Building. By the 1980s, speech and theatre were moved
across campus, and in 1984, the building was renamed in
honor of Vice Chancellor Emeritus W. Alton Bryant.
Last spring, upon completion of the second phase of
renovation, Bryant Hall became home to the departments of
Philosophy and Religion, and Classics. Besides new, wired
classrooms and administrative offices, the building
provides open gathering space on the main floor for
students and faculty.
While the aim of the renovation was to provide
state-of-the-art space for faculty and students, another
goal was to protect the originality of the old library,
said Bill Anderson, construction manager.
“The first renovation was about three or four years ago,
and this included updating the infrastructure,” Anderson
said. “The second renovation was a bit more painstaking. We
had to either replace or replicate many original aspects.”
In fact, it took nearly a month to replace the penny tiles
in the hall’s entrance, which was done by hand. In
addition, the stairwell to the rotunda was enclosed and the
floors refinished or replaced with heartwood pine. The
stained glass at the top of the rotunda is original to the
building, Anderson said.
Shea-Moore Designs of Memphis provided the sofas, chairs,
lamps, paintings and maps of Paris and London for the
faculty lounge and gallery. Lynda Lee Mead Shea, Ole Miss
alumna and Miss America 1960 is president of the company.
So, just how fast does the globe move? “It moves
approximately five thirty-seconds of an inch every minute,”
Lawhead said. “This means it makes one full rotation every
24 hours, just like the Earth.”