Goldwin Smith Hall’s windows are completely boarded-up on the east sides facing East Ave, which has been closed to vehicular traffic minus bikes and busses starting a couple weeks ago. Construction fencing has been bumped-out into the western lane, and temporary lights have been installed to manage the traffic flow across the one lane. Roofing work on Goldwin as part of the enabling project is still progressing, but once that’s complete, we should see some further excavation work towards the very edge of East Ave, in order to install the retaining wall for the the eastern side of Klarman Hall that will be below ground level.
Cornell has setup a project page here with newly released floor plans, an FAQ section, and some additional information. Floor plan images posted below.

New final floor plans released:

Slight progress since November, but I would bet that much of this is on hold until the holidays are over or once the weather is a bit more forgiving. The roof of Goldwin Smith Hall is being replaced as part of the enabling work for the Klarman Hall project. The new electric and telecom concrete duct along East Avenue has been covered over now, so further excavation and the remaining enabling work will probably be completed early this year to prep for construction season.

Goldwin Smith Hall’s roof replacement project is well underway, and there’s a new concrete electric and telecom duct along East Ave. that has been run and poured as part of the enabling work for the Klarman Hall project. There’s a photo grab of the section below, showing the new service area, and where the new building’s retaining wall will sit. The future sidewalk area will be directly above the duct, and then offices will be built-in beneath this grade right beyond the retaining wall.

More site prep is underway at the future site of Klarman Hall on East Ave for a construction mobilization in early November. There is a series of concrete manhole access forms on the northeastern corner of the site, and there’s a long section of walkway that has been excavated in front of Goldwin Smith Hall on the southern side, revealing the concrete-encased electric duct (according to the utility & demolition plan, embedded below) running from the southeastern corner clockwise around the building to the front. I’m spotting a couple generators outside the in-ground electric room, which will be re-worked as part of the project as well.
It will be interesting seeing this hillside blasted and dug out for the new retaining wall. Part of the building will literally have offices sited underneath the new sidewalk runs along East Avenue running the length of Goldwin Smith Hall, with lit skylight arrays running north-south that protrude above ground several feet. The excavation will be going quite deep, almost right up to the edge of East Ave.

In addition to the Klarman Hall project, Goldwin Smith Hall’s roof will be undergoing a replacement at the cost of around $5 million (including some Klarman Hall enabling work). First, the metal and slate material will be removed, then a series of minor geometric changes will be made (from the drawings, it looks like they’re intended to provide better drainage and snow drip to the eave corners, preventing buildup and eventual leakage). The eave and dormer details look about the same, so once the roof is replaced, it will be hard for someone to spot the difference coming back as an alumni.. nothing like what it will be like to look at the East Ave side and see Klarman Hall consuming the former dead space on the eastern side. The roof replacement draft details are embedded below.