Renovated North Hall is now open to students
“It lends itself to a more open community building, because you can have food and people sharing food together, while another group of students could be playing video games or board games,” said Todd Heft, assistant director of Residence Life.
Austin Patterson, The Exponent
The common areas of the newly-renovated North Hall are designed to foster community living.
North Hall is now open to students following some recent renovations as part of a long-term plan to update and improve the residence halls on campus. North Hall was first opened in 1960 and this is the biggest change the building has experienced since.
Some of the major renovations done to the building include; salon-style gender-neutral bathrooms, air-conditioning, an elevator, an expanded kitchen and lounge space, a STEM classroom, and minor tweaks to the bedrooms.
Kristin Brewer, assistant director of recruitment and communication, said the building was renovated as part of a strategy to refresh North Quad, which included last year’s opening of the Austin E. Knowlton Center, BW’s new science, technology, engineering and math building.
“Many students enjoy living on the North quad and those halls have not been updated in a while,” Brewer said. “Given that, and the proximity to the newly constructed Knowlton Center, it made sense to focus on North Hall.”
The bathrooms at North are now gender-neutral and salon-style, giving students their own stall with a toilet, sink, and shower said Todd Heft, the assistant director of training and supervision for the Office of Residence Life.
These bathrooms were “created in a way to make students feel more comfortable in a private environment regardless of identity,” Heft said. North Hall is a living-learning center with a focus on STEM students as many of the classes they take are in buildings within the vicinity.
Heft mentioned that the classroom located inside of North Hall is not currently being used for a class, but they hope to have classes there in the future or use it as a space for the STEM Scholars Program.
Heft said his favorite part of the newly renovated dorm is the open kitchen that connects to the large gathering area.
“It lends itself to a more open community building, because you can have food and people sharing food together, while another group of students could be playing video games or board games,” Heft said.
Brewer is a big fan of the large BW-branded mural next to the elevator as it’s a great spot for pictures.
The addition of the elevator to this building has allowed more accessibility on North Campus, as well as giving the building ADA Compliance.
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