Students tested furniture of different colors and styles for future Gators on Tuesday.
About 200 students voted on nine different seating options for Newell Hall, which is being renovated into a 24-hour student study center, said Anthony DeSantis, UF’s associate dean of students.
Students ranked nine chairs and couches based on comfort, style and functionality and chose from three fabric designs for each piece of furniture.
Newell Hall will be completed in March 2017, wrote Howie Ferguson, the building’s project manager, in an email. The renovation will cost about $16.5 million, $13 million of which will be for construction, while the remaining money will cover furniture and inspection and design fees.
“Students have been part of this building since the renovation started,” DeSantis said. “If it’s not right for a student, then we don’t want to go with something like that.”
When complete, Newell Hall will have a modern interior within its historical exterior, he said.
“It will kind of be like Google headquarters’ downtown feel,” he said. “When you renovate an old building, you don’t want to lose the sense of where it came from.”
DeSantis said the results will be posted on the Dean of Students Office’s website after the paper ballots are tallied.
Parker Hoppens, a UF food and resource economics sophomore, said he enjoyed trying out different chairs but was lost when picking fabrics.
“I don’t know why they’re trusting students with pattern design,” the 19-year-old said. “I have absolutely no clue.”
@k_newberg
knewberg@alligator.org
FURNITURE VOTED ON:
Chairs
Couches
Study carrels
Swivel chairs
Armchairs
