Renovation/Restoration Award of Merit: N.C. State University Memorial Belltower Renovation
First completed in the late 1930s, North Carolina State University’s Memorial Belltower had always lacked a key component—the bells. Instead, four loudspeakers had for decades broadcast bell sounds across the campus. In the decades since, the iconic campus landmark had suffered from water intrusion and other issues.
In addition to resolving the water issues, this project restored the tower’s marble shrine room, installed new stairs and clockworks and added a new 55-bell carillon, one of the largest in the U.S. Anticipating that the 55 bells would represent the project’s longest lead item, the project team prepared an early bid package, which was awarded in April 2019, with the first bells arriving in June 2020.