By Bethany Van Lingen
Just over a month after opening, students still can’t expect to attend most classes in the Image Arts building until January 2012.
“Students will not be able to use the classrooms until January because equipment, continually in use by classes throughout the fall semester, will need to be moved to the new building,” said Alex Anderson, interim chair of the School of Image Arts.
The first classes in the renovated building were set to begin in September 2011. But unfinished classrooms meant that students had to spend another semester in the Victoria building and other spare spaces around campus.
“When we got back to school this year, they threw us a pizza party. They were trying to make up for this,” said Alison Greaves, a fourth-year photography student. Construction began in Greave’s first year and she will only get the chance to use the new building for her final semester.
As of now, the photo studios are complete. There is wireless access available throughout and the sound stage for film is set to be completed this weekend, said President Sheldon Levy.
“Generally everyone is happy about it, more students are using the space, however it is still a work in progress,” he said.
The building was designed to serve as inspiration for students, said Anderson. Kailee Clayton, a third-year film student, doesn’t see this commitment to design on the inside of the building. The tiles on the third floor are old and the rooms are laid out oddly, she said.
Michelle Nunes, a first-year photography student, said the studio space looks like a warehouse. Besides one photography lab in the IMA building, the rest of her classes are located elsewhere on campus.
The transition between buildings began on the Thanksgiving weekend.
Vid Ingelevics, professor in the undergraduate and graduate Image Arts programs, is holding on to both his offices as he slowly makes the move from the Victoria building over to his new office in the Image Arts building.
Students are still required to travel to the seventh and eighth floors of the Victoria building to book and return their equipment.
The photography cage has moved student photography equipment to the new building, but equipment for staff and cameras and lenses for students still remains in the office. The film cage has not begun their move yet and are still deciding when to start.
Construction will continue into the new year, with the addition of the student gallery space that will not be completed as planned until next year, said Paul French, media coordinator for Diamond & Schmitt Architects.
Ex-Board Member
A pizza party? Shows what kind of education you can expect at Ryerson: a cheap one!