First time renovation project for Nicely Hall was interrupted due to the July War, and delay caused relocation of some classes during the first week of this semester.

Delayed renovation plans relocated tudents to different classrooms for the first week of classes last Wednesday, September 27 through Friday, September 29. An email sent by Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Khalil Bitar the day before the start of the semester warned students of the relocation of classes that were scheduled to be held in Nicely 101, 103, 105, 107, and 108.

The five classrooms have been the site of a major reconstruction project under the supervision of Hisham Ramadan, Project Manager at the Facilities Planning & Design Unit. Renovation was scheduled to begin in the early summer and be completed in time for the beginning of the academic year, but was delayed due to the war.

“Since classes have to start and we do not have alternative locations, the classrooms will be partially completed,” Ramadan told Outlook. He said that the project would eventually be resumed and completed, but that dates of completion are still tentative and cannot yet be determined.

Ramadan argued that his team plans to exploit coming holidays including those by Fitr Eid, Christmas and the interruption of classes between the fall and spring semesters.

Nicely Hall, one of the newer constructions on campus, is known for its classroom space. The hall that was built in 1965 has never been renovated. Upon Bitar’s request, however, it became the focus of a comprehensive process of classroom re-structuring. “Our designs for the classrooms target the question ‘what are the methods of teaching?’” said Ramadan.

The current design of Nicely Hall classrooms, with rows of seats bolted to the ground facing a chalkboard and a teacher’s desk, has raised speculation and criticism from both professors and students. “It’s a very authoritarian class structure,” says Dr. Maria Koinova, an assistant professor at the Political Science and Public Administration department. A students who was lingering in the balcony-hall in front of his classroom, said the seats are cemented to the ground “because during the civil war, students used to throw them at each other during fights.”

Ramadan confirmed the student rumor: “Historically, students used to pile them up at the door as barricades, and teachers would come into the classroom to find seats upside down and all over the place,” he said.

While the seats were pinned down in rows for purposes of safety and organization in the old days, the new classroom layout plan entails individual, moveable desks. The designs offer a complete restructuring of class space based on improving teacher-student interaction and collaborative learning, keeping in mind three criteria necessary for what the designers call the “engaged-learner”: “physical,” “social” and “technological” comfort. With these criteria as guidelines, five different “Nicely Hall Prototype Classrooms” are now under construction, each designed to allow for diverse teaching styles and levels of interaction between students.

Ramdan said that there are different classroom designs. The “Classic Classroom” is simple: individual desks facing a central focal point, with an interactive lounge with couches runs along the edge of the class nearest the windows. The “Round Table Classroom” is for highly interactive classes where students and teachers gather around a round-table, with an alcove in the back for smaller discussions and project-work. The “Raked Classroom” has a stage-like area with rising rows of seats and a mini-proscenium, appropriate for fine arts or theater classes. “The theater professors really liked this one,” said Ramadan.

The “Docked Classroom” has several large tables for group work that can be re-arranged. The “Long Tables Classroom” is composed of three long tables, each made of detachable mini-tables with a moveable tear-drop shaped table at the end for group work. This final classroom type is flexibly designed for multiple purposes and can also accommodate a very interactive class as all tables can be detached and rearranged.

All five classrooms will have standard features to remedy some of the common problems of the current classroom structure. Motorized window shades will block out the sun when teachers need to show videos or use projectors; sound-absorbing panels will block out outside noises; an LCD screen and moveable projector will be available for more interactive course material; and a variety of lighting settings will make the spaces more welcoming. The project coordinators are looking into having an electronic information screen attached at the entrance of each classroom, that displays either the general schedule of usage for that room or individual course information. “We insisted on maximizing the use of environmentally friendly materials throughout the classrooms,” said Ramadan.

The project coordinators distributed suveys to all professors at the University to probe teaching styles, classroom-usage habits and opinions on the new classroom designs. Responses have indicated that professors generally approve of all five prototypes, with very few saying that they would never use the new classrooms. The “Classic Classroom” rated highest on usability. The “Nicely Hall Prototype Classrooms” are called prototypes because they are to be tested first: upon completion of the renovation, professors will be able to test the classrooms for one year before deciding on their practicality.