Within the aged brownstone walls of Bartlett Hall, the upper two floors -- which have languished for nearly 40 years without improvements -- has undergone extensive construction during the past eight months.
Bartlett houses the department of Asian and Middle Eastern Languages and Literatures and the Arts and Humanities Resource Center, which offers language resources to students and assists faculty with research and media presentations.
The construction has modernized and redesigned the upper floors of the building.
"It needed a complete overhaul of the electrical, air conditioning, wireless and Ethernet infrastructures," said Otmar Foelsche, director of the resource center. "The whole infrastructure of the building had to be brought up to code so that [the building] could pass insurance regulations."
Bartlett once contained physical language laboratory facilities, which became increasingly obsolete as film and audio services were digitized and moved online.
The new renovations converted the area into a modern computing lab and replaced the previous equipment with a new network and new computers. Some students seeking faster and more sophisticated equipment for computer animation work have already begun using the lab, Foelsche said.
"We cooperate very nicely with Jones Media Center," Foelsche said, adding that the new Bartlett facility can also handle some of the overflow demand from Jones.
The resource center also changed the physical layout of the space by replacing the language lab with conjoined work spaces, one each for students and faculty.
The center's staff hoped the new study room could provide students with another option for study space, particularly during exam periods.
The layout follows a more open-plan design, with computer workstations and conference tables in close proximity, to encourage student collaboration.
"The space was not being used here at the College like it used to be," said Tom Garbelotti, a senior user analyst for the resource center. "We felt it was important for students to have a study space on this side of campus."
The space will also help to facilitate discussion among professors.
Faculty who would not normally interact can share ideas in the resource center because most humanities faculty go to the center for computing needs, Foelsche said.
"We see faculty members talking with each other and collaborating," Foelsche said. "That was probably the best part of it, that we had this opportunity to create a space that would be very friendly, very open, and would get people talking to each other."
The changes may also allow faculty to more efficiently use technology for teaching and research by streamlining the computer servers that faculty use for presentations, publications and research, Foelsche said.
Consolidating the servers allows faculty to securely save information and access it from off-campus locations.
The staff also added potted plants to the room to increase humidity and reduce static electricity and repainted the space to lend an air of familiarity.
"They're Baker-Berry colors," Garbelotti said, pointing out their likeness to the scheme in Baker's main hall. "When there's sunlight, it's actually a nicely lit space."
The resource center is still considering new ways to improve the facilities, which could include setting up a projector system to allow training for small groups and installing carded entry points to to allow 24-hour use of the facility, Foelsche said.
