Featured Photo: Seeking input from CNM students and staff, Emily Brudenell project manager with The Hartman + Majewski Design Group hands out, collects and explains surveys in the MS building third floor lobby. (Wade Faast/CNM Chronicle)
February 16, 2017. By Wade Faast
The Hartman + Majewski Design Group is designing the large renovation and remodel of the MS building on main campus and is looking for input from students and staff.
CNM and the architects in charge of the program want to know what students and staff want in the refreshed building, and what isn’t working now, Jorge Gonzales an architect with The Hartman + Majewski Design Group said.
“We aren’t telling you what environment you need to learn in, but rather asking what environment you want to learn in” he said.
The response was more than they expected, he said.
They started handing out surveys and collecting information at 9 am, by 10:30 am they had over 100 surveys completed and handed out countless paper slips with a link to an online version of the survey, Gonzales said.
CNM GED student Steven Rios said the elevators are his biggest concern about the MS building.
“They are super slow and kinda creepy, not to mention always worrying that they might get stuck” he said.
Bathrooms are another concern, CNM nursing student Christin Hoschain said she gets frustrated by the lack of adequate facilities in the MS building.
With the current construction going on she regularly has to go hunt down a bathroom, she said.
Some of the new ideas that may be in the remodel design include agility and focus spaces, Jorge Gonzales said.
The agility spaces are multifunctional open air seating areas, similar to the large chairs with swiveling tables already found in the halls of the MS building.
New agility spaces may include diverse work options including comfortable chairs or bars to work at, he said.
Gonzales pointed out that while some people prefer to work with their laptop in their lap, many prefer to have table or bar available to keep that hot computer out of their lap.
The focus spaces are designed for the closed session study times when a student wants to close a door and isolate themselves, he said.
Students will be able to look into and see out of the focus spaces, but they will offer additional levels of isolating those inside from the noise and activity outside, he said.
Students are not the only focal point in their new plans, he said.
The instructors at CNM are also being asked for their input, Gonzales said.
There are a lot of things to consider, currently the fifth floor of the MS building is all staff offices, and the architects and designers want to know if that is the best option, he said.
“Shouldn’t the instructor’s offices be spread throughout all five floors, allowing for cross pollination of ideas and easier access for the students,” he asked.
Something that is in every class room, the chalkboard is up for discussion as well, do students and staff prefer the classic chalk board or dry erase white boards, he said.
The heating and cooling problems in MS are a huge distraction to Alicia Smith, some classes are way too hot and some feel freezing cold she said.
“It’s not working, and I wish they would finally fix it” Smith said.
In an email to the CNM Chronicle Brad Moore, director of communications and media relations for CNM said the HVAC system in MS is not malfunctioning and is operating, just not as effective as a newer system.
The current HVAC system is nearing the end of its life cycle and construction is currently underway to replace the aged system, he said.
CNM has been planning on replacing the older system for several years now, he said.
Work to replace the system started in July of 2016 and should be completed by late March of 2017 at an expense of $4,543,500 Moore said.
The HVAC replacement is top priority and will be finished before the remodel begins on the MS building he said.
The extensive remodel of the MS building is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2018.
