Students will soon reap the benefits of all the construction distractions when the new Humanities Building opens for the spring semester.

Final touches are now being given to the building such as painting, and furniture and fixtures will be installed before January.

When the spring semester begins, the new building should be fully functional.

“I would think that everyone would be pretty excited about it,” Bruce Hoerning, assistant facilities and planning director, said. “It is going to be pretty modern, especially compared to the Humanities Building that once was.”

While tape still lines some of the concrete walls, plants have already been cultivated into the earth along the sides of the building, giving the building an aesthetic appeal, while the abundance of windows inspires a sense of eco-friendliness.

Modernization

“The building will have all of the newest technology, and I believe every room will have Wi-Fi,” Hoerning said.

All of the classrooms have podiums, projectors and Internet connectivity, and the building will be able to accommodate ten computer labs, Bob Gann, facilities and planning director, said.

“The building was constructed to the Title 24 energy requirements of the state of California,” Gann said.

A highlight of the building is the fact that the lighting was designed to be economically conscious, as the windows were designed to allow for more natural light and to “bring the outdoors in,” which can allow for less-energy consumption, Hoerning said.

On the north side of the building, the lower two-thirds of the windows in the classrooms are opaque, and mimic frosted glass, aiming to prevent the wandering eyes of students, while the upper third is clear glass, furthering the utilization of the sun’s natural rays.

On the other hand, the south side of the building is two-thirds dry wall and one-third glass to keep the overabundance of sunlight exposure on that side to a minimum, thereby easing the distraction of students as well as the harm of extended exposure to ultra-violet rays.

In addition, the floors of the hallways are covered in a thick vinyl, eliminating noise from passing students.

“Title 24 has everything to do with energyergy and lighting; there are energy management systems in place, so heating and energy are controlled by computers that will eventually be controlled by the central plant,” Tom Brown, assistant facilities planning and management director, said.

Furthering environmental-friendliness, dry-erase boards hang on classroom walls instead of archaic blackboards, which induced sneezing and the inevitable chalk-stain some professors ended up with on their foreheads.

Doors are made of glass and have metal handles instead of doorknobs, and also utilize the two-third opaque, one-third clear glass design, making sure classes go on undisturbed.

“Some windows have eyebrows to keep excessive sunlight out from the west-side,” Hoerning said.

Student Reactions

Being among the first to lay eyes on the new addition to campus, journalism students were given an opportunity to tour the building as it nears its debut, getting a better scope of how its new newsroom will be.

“It makes the campus look years in advance than the way it looked before,” Robert Doss, sports editor for the Union newspaper, said. “I’m glad to be one of the first to break in the new building.”

Most of the students who went attended the tour agreed that the lighting in particular utilized natural elements as well as artificial to create proper, well-lit work environments for students.

“I like how the lights aren’t super bright and how the windows are set up so that you can let some natural light in and not really have to depend on electricity,” Kathy Gaytan, co-opinions editor, said.

“I’m just looking forward to the eco-friendliness and am excited to move in,” she said.

Seeing the Administration Building from the second floor of the Humanities Building was dull in comparison to its counterpart.

“I am actually really excited I got to be one of the first ones to see it,” John Maioriello, assistant photo editor, said. “It makes the other buildings look really old and decrepit, and it just seems like it’s going to be a nice and refreshing place to be.”

Upcoming projects

With an odor of new plastic, fresh drywall and pristine vinyl-floored hallways, the Humanities Building is the first of many to be re-structured by the facilities planning and management coordinators.

They who hope to establish completely modern and energy efficient facilities onto its list of prospective projects.

“We have a number of other projects currently under construction, infrastructure, constructing the Central Plant, but notably the extension of the Learning Resources Center building that is adjacent to the Humanities complex,” Gann said.

Plans will be submitted to the Division of State Architects for an approval process that involves three separate reviews: structural, fire and life safety and disabled accessibility.

Among other things, plans for parking Lot H will undergo an approval process in December, and the project is anticipated to commence at the start of the next semester, Hoerning said.

The planning process for the replacement of the Mathematics/Business Building has begun.

It will be constructed in a size similar to the new Humanities Building. Both divisions will be in the same building.

“I think it makes a statement. The campus is moving forward, and I know it has been an inconvenience for the students, but with change you always have that inconvenience,” Hoerning said. “Change is good.”