Coutyard Repair and Renovation
Long-awaited repairs to address flooding and leaks in the Beckman Institute basement and sub-basement levels will begin in Spring 2026. The courtyard will be demolished, waterproofed, and reconstructed. There may be disruption to the building's entrances via the courtyard, and the potential for noise and vibrations throughout the building. The repairs are expected to be completed in September 2026.
During construction, the only entrances into the Beckman Institute are via the exterior doors of the building. It poses a danger to everyone when we have people ignoring the "Do Not Enter" signs and walking through the construction space. The courtyard is completely closed to non-construction personnel until the project is complete.
Updates on project timeline, progress, and milestones will be posted here as they become available. The most frequent and time-sensitive communications will be distributed via the BI listserv, beckmaninstitute[at]caltech, so please make sure you and your group members are subscribed. To subscribe to the listserv, please email Pat Anguiano and request to be added.
For general questions, including questions to be relayed to the construction team, please email Beckman Institute Administrator Ariane Helou, who is serving as the liaison between the BI community and PD&C.
We've created a flyer with the construction schedule and a QR code that directs to this page, which you can download here to print and post or share electronically with your group.
Overall construction timeline and plan available here.
Finally, please be aware that beginning in late June and early July, there will be construction projects ongoing at Noyes that may also cause noise and vibration impact in the BI. If you encounter issues from Noyes construction, please contact Lauvai Tufele (Project Manager, Caltech PD&C).
Latest Updates
June 24, 2026: The anticipated industrial water shutoff has been scheduled for Tuesday, June 30, 4:00AM-8:00AM. This shutdown is to install an isolation valve that feeds the BI courtyard; it will affect all lab sinks and any equipment utilizing industrial cold water & industrial hot water.
Once the isolation valve has been installed, the crew will be able to complete the remainder of the heavy demolition: Tuesday, June 30 - Thursday, July 2, 7:30AM - 3:30PM each day. These three days of heavy demo are anticipated to be the last of the project, but please note they will involve serious vibration and noise disturbances, so please plan accordingly.
Construction work will be suspended Friday, July 3 for the Institute holiday. Regular construction (not heavy demo) will resume Monday, July 6.
June 15, 2026: Noise and vibration data and analysis from the first week of demolition are available here (use Caltech login to access); latest project status update is here. Heavy demolition is mostly complete, but some additional heavy demo hours will be scheduled later in June to work around the water main. A brief industrial cold water shutoff may be necessary while working around the pipes; this will be announced as far in advance as possible.
June 9, 2026: An additional day of demolition has been scheduled for Monday, June 15, 7:00AM - 5:00PM. This is to make up for a partially lost workday on 6/8 as demolition was halted to repair a broken water pipe. Our current understanding is that Monday, June 15 will be the final day of heavy demolition with intense noise and vibration. Regular construction work will begin on Tuesday, June 16, causing mild to moderate noise and vibration.
June 5, 2026: An additional day of demolition is scheduled for Saturday, June 13. There will likely be heavy vibration and noise on this date.
May 28, 2026: Renovations will begin on June 1, 2026. Construction activities will take place on weekdays only, and will be paused June 11-12 for Commencement. Anticipated timeline:
June 1-2, 7am-3pm daily: Mobilization (delivery of materials, fencing, portable restrooms)
June 3-10, 7am-5pm daily: Demolition (saw cutting and jackhammering). We strongly recommend avoiding running any sensitive experiments during working hours on these dates, due to high vibration and noise.
June 15 - Sept 30, 7am-3pm daily: Construction. We anticipate that vibrations will be minimal during this period, but you may wish to consider conducting sensitive experiments after 3pm on these dates.
Additional details in Facilities announcement here.
The sound and vibration data from the soft demo is available here.
May 5, 2026: Construction permits have been approved. Beginning May 7, vibration and noise monitors will be placed in BI ground floor, basement, and sub-basement rooms. On May 20, 9:00-11:00AM, a soft demo was conducted to obtain real-time data on construction impacts (details here).
Construction will begin within 2-3 weeks after completion of the soft demo (late May / early June).