Vanderbilt’s Carmichael Towers imploded to make way for new residential college

By CHUCK MORRIS

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    NASHVILLE, Tennessee (WSMV) — Vanderbilt University’s Carmichael Towers 1 and 2 were imploded on Saturday morning to make way for a new world-class residential college on campus, the university announced.

Layton Construction safely demolished the two residence halls. Layton oversaw the previous implosion of Carmichael Tower 3 in July 2019 and the demolition of Carmichael Tower 4 later that summer.

The demolition makes way for construction of the next residential college under the campus’ FutureVU program in support of Vanderbilt’s Academic Strategic Plan.

The controlled implosions of the 14-story Carmichael Towers took place seconds apart from one another, overseen by Layton Construction, construction manager of Vanderbilt’s West End Neighborhood and Residential Colleges, and Controlled Demolition, Inc., a national leader in large-structure controlled demolition.

“These towers were located on one of Nashville’s busiest streets, West End Avenue, which is aligned with stores, restaurants and hotels. The successful implosion of the Vanderbilt residence halls to a great deal of planning and precision to ensure success,” said Sean Farrell, Layton Construction’s construction manager, in a news release.

Further safety precautions and measures were put in place by Layton Construction prior to Saturday’s implosion.

Adjacent commercial and campus occupied buildings that were inside a predesignated “blast zone” were evacuated prior to, during and immediately after implosion The process required oversight of explosives once they were loaded into the building that required police presence onsite for three days prior to the implosion for security and safety During the day of implosion, adjacent buildings that might have been impacted (depending on wind direction) for post blast airborne dust, their HVAC units were shut down and teams restarted once all clear was sounded A special cleaning process of all adjacent buildings took place for two hours after the blast to clean up any airborne dust that may have infiltrated the area Layton Construction executed a safety area process just before the implosion. This ensures no one is inside the perimeter and designated a safe zone before demolition The implosion continues the transformation of Vanderbilt’s West End neighborhood and the expansion of the university’s residential colleges experience. Residential College C, which is scheduled to open in fall 2024, will be the four residential college along West End Avenue. E. Bronson Ingram College opened in 2018, Nicholas S. Zeppos College opened in fall 2020 and Rothschild College will open in fall 2022.

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