Elizabeth Fechtel sat down with friends in the UF Levin College of Law and wrote down her definition of innovation.
“When I think of innovation, I think of things that are bright, new and unheard of before,” said the UF political science junior.
Fechtel, 20, and about 50 other UF students gave feedback on the $10 million renovations coming to Newell Hall at a public forum hosted by Student Government on Thursday. The vacant building will be renovated into a learning space with an emphasis on group study.
Aileen Strickland, a designer for the project, divided students into groups of seven and had each of them define the themes of Newell Hall’s renovation: innovation, flexibility and accessibility.
Designers hope to make Newell Hall innovative with equal access to technology, including computers and TVs with video conferencing capabilities, flexible with portable tables and walls conducive to group studying, and accessible with comfortable chairs and large tables.
“The most important part in the design process is you have to have a solid concept because it drives everything,” Strickland said.
A student experience survey from 2011 revealed that students considered more study space as “the single most important thing” to improve their experiences.
“The goal is to create innovative and unique learning space that does not exist anywhere on campus,” said UF Student Body President Cory Yeffet.
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 10/3/2014]
