YouAlberta
Attention all visitors, dwellers, associates and curious bystanders regarding the Tory building: there have been some renovations. I am not referring to the renovations in the atrium, I’m referring to completed projects – updated classrooms that aim to address the learning needs of students.
What’s changed?
Three rooms in the Henry Marshall Tory Building, B87, B95 and B45 received some major upgrades. The previously tiered rooms were levelled, which increased physical accessibility into the room itself. The lighting and seating were replaced and updated and additional seats have been added to each classroom.
These rooms are now distinct from the rest of the classrooms in Tory. For folks who frequent the building, the uniformity of the space is well-known. For those of you unaware, this before photo can give you a glimpse of one genre of classroom in the building:
The $720,000 renovation happened as an initiative of the Student Experience Action Plan, or SEAP, in response to student feedback, which highlighted the need for accessible learning environments for all. Deputy Provost Melissa Padfield says, regarding this upgrade, “Renovating these classrooms helps the university maximize the usage, efficiency, quality and utility of its current spaces, ensuring they are functioning at full capacity and meeting today’s standards of technology, interdisciplinary learning and leading-edge education.”
The entire Tory renovation project, which includes these classroom renovations, along with the atrium modernization and mechanical upgrades, has an estimated cost of $11.4 million. The atrium and mechanical upgrades are scheduled to be completed by Spring 2025. Some modernization upgrades include updating flooring in hallways and select classrooms.
Though the other projects have yet to be completed, these classrooms are fully updated and currently in use.
The rooms feel entirely different to enter and learn in. Gone are the hard plastic seats with immovable, small side desks. In their place are plush, fold-down movie-theatre-style seats. The chairs have slightly larger side desks that flip up from the side. There’s a large platform desk at the back for increased physical accessibility of the space. Two flatscreens hang from the ceiling, visible to the back portion of the class and the tile (that was older than many students) has been replaced with carpet that matches the acoustic cushions on the classic brick walls.
The layout of the chairs has also changed, adding capacity to each room while maintaining a decent-sized middle aisle. Additionally, the old fluorescent lighting has been replaced with new fluorescent lighting. These particular changes affect the accessibility of the space in different ways for different people depending on sensory sensitivities and modes of mobility. I highly recommend checking out the classrooms.
Overall, these upgrades brighten and modernize the space, distinguishing these classrooms from the labyrinthian nature of the Tory building, but maintaining that classic vibe that makes the building a fitting home for the classics* department.
What are students and instructors saying?
I spoke with Karlis Muehlenbachs, who has been teaching in one of the rooms. He described it as a “nice room to teach in” and that it was “much more cheerful and modern” than it was. The acoustics are good, and the new electronics are nice. Since some of the cords needed for this room are different from the rest of the Tory classrooms, instructors who teach in multiple classrooms in the same building need to be prepared to adapt to a variety of technology. When asked what Tory renovation he’d like to see, Muehlenbachs said a pedway from Tory to Earth Sciences would increase the accessibility of both spaces. His students gave him feedback about the room to relay to me, and they echoed that the space is cheerful and “brighter.” One student even went so far as to declare that the new “chairs are the most comfortable [chairs] in Tory,” and I agree.
It would be great to see further renovations led by student feedback, particularly in this building. Though many have nothing but praise for this room, some gaps have already been identified. The side tables are still quite small, and there’s not much room for coats and personal items. Regardless of these aspects, the upgrades definitely modernize the rooms, increase physical accessibility into the space and gave these classrooms the comfier chairs, which are net improvements.
These renovations have people excited for more collaboration between students, instructors and staff, and hopeful for the future of the many other classrooms, seminar spaces and offices in the Henry Marshall Tory building.
*Classics is just one of many departments that find their home in this building, including but not limited to anthropology, classics, urban planning and economics.