The barn raises the roof

By Lucy Walrod ‘20

The Barn, roofless because of its failure to meet building standards, is planned to reopen as Catlin Gabel School’s dining hall in late October.

In fact, it was not the roof that posed a problem but the trusses, key structural elements of the roof that couldn’t be fixed without the roof’s removal.

Late last spring, the Barn failed a general building inspection. The Barn didn’t pass the seismic inspection and the weight-bearing capacity of the roof was not up to code. The building was deemed unsafe and couldn’t be used according to regulation.

Work on the Barn started over the summer but the project ran into constant roadblocks due to permits and delays.

Barn under construction Photo by Lucy Walrod

“We hope [the construction of the Barn] will be done by the end of October-ish. It also then depends on the rain,” said Barabara Ostos, Assistant Head of School. 

The rebuilt Barn roof will have a more open ceiling instead of the dropped and tiled previous ceiling. The interior of the Barn will be set up similarly to Tennis Court 1’s line of multiple food options, possibly with one additional dining option that SAGE Dining Services is currently unable to provide because of inadequate kitchen space in the trailers.

While there were originally plans to tear down the Barn to make new classroom space, the purchase of Oregon College of Art and Craft’s campus has changed these plans. 

“‘What is the future of the Barn?’ is a question that Catlin Gabel asks itself generation after generation after generation,” said Ostos.

CGS community members can expect the Barn to continue to be the dining hall of the main campus for the foreseeable future.