UT Stories

Vol. 5 [UT Stories] UT Austin Presses Ahead with Tower and Battle Hall Restorations

Ji Hyun Ahn

11 Apr 2026 • 1 min read

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Several campus construction efforts advanced this spring, with two major projects underway at the Main Building and Tower and at Battle Hall.
The Main Building and Tower restoration is slated for completion in summer 2027. The exterior is currently wrapped in scaffolding, which UT covered with a fabric overlay in March to approximate the building's original look. Planned exterior work includes repainting, fitting cast-iron spandrels, and refreshing the limestone masonry.
Carrie West, Assistant Vice President of Planning, Design and Construction, noted that structural conditions will determine the order of work, with wind management posing a particular challenge for supporting the heavy scaffolds. As a result, crews will begin at the upper floors and work their way down, finishing at the crown.
On the interior side, UT plans to establish a welcome center at the base of the Tower to help visitors orient themselves and move between spaces more easily. Historic preservation planner Kim Barker emphasized that the project will leave character-defining features untouched — including the Life Science reading room — and that nothing historically significant will be removed.
At Battle Hall, the primary focus is replacing the library's elevator with one that meets ADA requirements, as the second floor was previously reachable only via the grand staircase. Renovation work dating back to 2021 has also included converting ground-floor offices into architecture studios and removing partition walls to restore the original layout. The library is expected to reopen by fall semester, though the main reading space remains closed in the meantime.

(Source: Daily Texan)