2006
Dormitory Implosion

Dorm (visible at right) before implosion	Doug Loizeauz of Controlled Demolition Inc. shows how explosive charges are set in the building’s concrete support structure.
The implosion of the dorm

Contractors imploded the 45-year old student dormitory at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Feb. 19, 2006, to make room for a major addition to the UAMS Medical Center.

J. Floyd Kyser, M.D., a retired otolaryngologist who graduated from UAMS in 1962, won the bid to push a ceremonial plunger, signaling the demolition of the 10-story building at the intersection of Hooper and Shuffield drives on the UAMS campus. Several hundred UAMS officials, guests and members of the public cheered the series of bangs that sounded as the roughly 65 pounds of charges placed in 300 locations in the 45-year old building's concrete shell detonated and the 15,000-ton building collapsed in about 15 seconds. Ice on the ground and temperatures in the low 20s did not deter or delay the implosion.

The adjacent Jeff Banks Student Union and nearby Child Study Center were later torn down to build the hospital addition.

Controlled Demolition Inc. of Baltimore, Md., served as lead contractor for the dorm implosion.

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