In public areas, or in a dormitory lounge, they often do try to add bolder color. For example, the entrance at Willard Hall was painted deep green with white accent trim to make it look like a reception lobby. In offices, they prefer using one of the more interesting neutrals such as a pale gray or light blue tone versus the typical boring beige. For the most part, oil based paints continue to be used on the exterior of the older buildings on campus because they bond better to the existing oil finish paint surface and generally hold up better. Even though the bulk of the maintenance painting was done during the summer, the 133 buildings scattered on the Evanston campus's 240-acre site along Lake Michigan, require year round upkeep.
Scheduling is a big part of the task.
While dormitories are painted during a period when they will not be in use, administration building painting starts in the public areas, and arrangements are made to be in each office for a half day to a day. Then there are those who have accumulated so much in their office, they do not want the disruption and are not eager for us to do it. But offices need to be maintained and the work must be done. When something gets damaged, or paint pops off the ceiling, we have to take care of it, so we are dealing with it every day. Every year, we do more and more painting to keep the dorms, the offices and the educational spaces in good shape.