Sledgehammers flew into walls Monday to signal the beginning of construction on the second phase of the Center for Media Innovation and Research in Weimer Hall.
About 14 people gathered for the wall-breaking ceremony, which was held on the third floor of the Flanagan Wing of the building.
David E. Carlson, executive director of the Center for Media Innovation and Research, Dean John Wright, public relations professors Ann Christiano and Juan-Carlos Molleda, and assistant professor of advertising Troy Elias each donned hardhats and swung sledgehammers into the wall of the old WRUF newsroom, which will be transformed into a high-tech lab.
Each person who swung the hammer could smash the wall three or four times.
"This is a wall-breaking ceremony, not a ground-breaking ceremony, because we're not actually going to break the ground," Carlson joked.
The new lab will be similar to the CMIR lab located in the basement of Weimer Hall, but while the original had been designed for journalism students, this lab will be geared toward advertising, public relations and production telecommunication students.
"We are remodeling this space dramatically," Carlson said. "This lab is built to experiment with messages that are intended to influence the recipients."
He said the lab will deliver messages in a variety of ways, including print and television. People in the lab will be able to examine the responses and see which were most effective.
The lab will be enclosed in glass walls, containing four small rooms for groups of students to use for classes or competitions. There will also be a kitchen for coffee and food.
The space, Carlson said, was designed to be inviting.
"It will be a less formal type of teaching space," he said. "It will look much more like a lounge than it does as a classroom."
The completed lab is scheduled to open in January.
