Senior Heather Lang works on the Pi Phi/FIJI float Thursday afternoon at the old Mrs. Baird’s factory on Mockingbird during the 24-hour building party. Float building ended at 4 a.m. this morning. (Casey Lee)

Driving past the old Mrs. Baird’s bread factory on Central Expressway, it is hard to imagine what is really going on in the old, abandoned warehouse.

On the outside, Mrs. Baird’s looks like something out of a crime scene in Law and Order: SVU. The isolated warehouse is intimidating and a little spooky, with its silver gated parking lot and towering walls.

At this time of year, Mrs. Baird’s comes alive thanks to the spirit of SMU Homecoming.

Every year during the week before Homecoming, the once-deserted building transforms into an imitation of Santa’s Workshop, as students work hard to finish their organization’s float before Saturday morning’s deadline.

The float is a chance for each team of organizations to present their theme, as well as the chance to earn bragging rights if their float is chosen as the winner.

“The floats are a huge part of homecoming because the organizations work all week to create the best float possible in accordance with their theme,” said Sam Douglas, president of Student Foundation, which sponsors Homecoming each year. “It is definitely the most visual part of Homecoming, and the organizations love showing off their floats to the rest of the student body and the SMU community.”

Laughter and music, mixed with the sound of hammers and drills, can be heard from outside of the building. Inside, the gray concrete floor is littered with piles of sawdust and stray pieces of vibrant colored tissue paper. What looks like a simple wood skeleton covered in chicken wire will transform into a colorful pirate ship, a plantation home or a martial-arts fighting panda in a matter of hours.

“It’s been really fun so far,” said Alex Igleheart, SMU senior and Homecoming Chairman of her sorority, Chi Omega. “Everyone comes out and helps, and you get to know people in your organization better. There will be a lot of time and effort being put in, but it is going to be worth it.”

The process of building a float is as complex as the masterpieces themselves. The organizations must pick their theme and then design their floats accordingly. This year the Homecoming theme is “Rolling out the Red Carpet,” and the teams chose big Hollywood productions for their inspiration. Some of the themes include Jaws, Ghostbusters, Grease and Top Gun. On average, each team went through three to five drafts before finalizing their design.

“We sat down with Gamma Phi Beta and brought our own designs in,” said Jeremy Wilkins, SMU sophomore and Homecoming Chairman of Beta Upsilon Chi about designing his King Kong float.”We then put our designs together, made about three drafts, and finally decided on one design.”

After the design is finalized, supplies are ordered. Wood, hardware and tissue paper are essential to the float building process. A simple wood structure is constructed first, supported by a flatbed trailer. Once the basic formation is finished, chicken wire is molded around the wood to create the desired product, whether it is an emerald castle, a New York City skyline or an elite school for wizards.

Next, it is time to “pomp.” This process begins with spraying adhesive glue onto chicken wire, and small squares of tissue paper are “pomped,” or placed into the holes. This is how the creations get their shape and color.

“A lot of people have shown interest in pomping,” said Amy Crowe, the Homecoming Chairman of the Union for the freshman class. “We have such a small organization of only 20 people, so we need all the help we can get.”

There are several building rules to the floats. According to Douglas, hiring a professional or getting outside help is prohibited. In addition, all floats must be built on-site, and no float-making kits are allowed. Before any float can be presented, it must be fireproofed with the proper chemicals, and there must be a fire extinguisher on board.

The float building will continue until today at 11 a.m., with a 24-hour float building party last night.

The organizations will flaunt their final products at the Homecoming Parade on Saturday at 11 a.m. The parade begins behind Dallas Hall, continues down Hillcrest Avenue, and loops around Bishop Boulevard. The reviewing stand will be at Binkley Avenue, where the winner will be decided.