35 classrooms will open in new visual arts part of complex

by Robert Winters

The visual arts part of the new complex has seen a lot of action this summer, as departments moved one by one into its eleven floors over a six-week period.

Hexagram, the recipient of a Canada Foundation for Innovation grant, was the first to move, in mid-June. The adventurous multimedia research institute’s specialized equipment have taken over the 10th and 11th floors.

The Centre for Digital Arts was next; then the classrooms and labs of Design and Computation Arts. They were followed by Fibres and Print Media, Photography, Art History, the Fine Arts Slide Library, and the Jarislowsky Institute in Canadian Art Studies.

The Dean’s office and student affairs will move into the second floor in July, and the Metal and Woodworking Shop in August. A new gallery will open on Ste. Catherine St. at a later date.

Shirley McLeod, of the Dean’s office, said the move went well, but a big challenge remains: getting about 35 classrooms and many labs ready for September.

“It’s one thing to move; it’s another to get up and running. We have to get connected, and that’s what we’ll be doing in August.”

Other moves on campus

Facilities Management reports that as of September:

Applied Human Sciences will be consolidated on the second and third floors of the Vanier extension at Loyola. Previously, the department was split between this building, which also houses the Loyola Campus library, and an annex on Bishop St.

The Journalism and Communication Studies Departments will move into the renovated Drummond Building at Loyola.

The Department of Political Science and the Department of Geography, Planning & Environment will move into the twelfth floor of the Henry F. Hall Building.

The Department of Economics and the Department of Sociology & Anthropology will move into the eleventh floor of the Hall Building.

The seventh floor of the Hall Building is being renovated for the Concordia Student Union offices, currently on the sixth floor, and for cafeteria and lounge space. This project will be completed later in the fall.

Out of rentals

In addition, several departments are moving out of rented space, and several smaller classrooms are being created in the BE, ER, LS and FG buildings.

Renovation and expansion of Health Services in the ER5 are expected to be completed by early fall.

The President’s office and some related units are moving to the eighth floor of the GM Building.