School’s Office of Facilities Management informed students about the plan of remodeling and reconstructing Hak-gwan at a briefing session on Sept. 4. The presentation dealt with the current progress and the plans for the operation.
Hak-gwan was established in 1965 by going through a five-step construction plan, making it one of the oldest buildings in Ewha where many College of Liberal Arts courses take place. However, due to safety concerns, the school has announced that it will reconstruct Hak-gwan starting from 2020 summer and the news has been brought about last semester. The rebuilding process is estimated to take about four months and aims to redesign the 54-year-old building into a better learning environment suitable for the fourth industrial revolution.
There are three wings of Hak-gwan of which the first and the second area will be remodeled. It involves installing an earthquake-resistant design and refining finishing materials. They focus to enhance the insulation and improve the quality of the air conditioning and heating system. In addition, elevators will be installed to create a barrier-free environment.
The third area will be reconstructed, meaning that parts of Hak-gwan will be pulled down. Due to the fact that the area of restoration covers from the underground to the seventh floor, it will take approximately 17 months until the completion of the construction. The reconstruction entails connecting the building with the first and second domain. 54 percent of the area will cover lecture rooms, active-learning classrooms, and spaces for professors and instructors. The latter 46 percent will be filled with multi-purpose room, PC rooms, conference lounges, and convenience facilities for students.
Lee June-yub, Vice President of the Office of Facilities Management, mentioned that the first and second section will be initially separated. After the phased remodeling has been completed, they will start breaking down the third area. There are plans to execute majority of the construction during vacations since the operation will inevitably produce noise pollution.
Lee also explained the issue regarding the lack of classroom space and student club space in Hak-gwan during the construction.
“Student club rooms of the College of Liberal Arts will temporarily move to other places,” Lee said. “The remodeling and reconstruction during the semester, we intend to designate temporary rooms for each class. However, this concern will be further discussed with the planner afterwards.”
Moreover, he commented on the future plans of the remodeling. In order to receive more feedback from students, the office is going to create a survey with the student council. Based on the survey results collected, they are willing to reflect the opinions of students on the reconstruction.
After the briefing session, a student from the Department of German Language and Literature, shared her thoughts.
“As mentioned by the office, I hope that students, faculty members, and builders will understand one another in order to make the remodeling of Hak-gwan successful. I anticipate that the building will become a better place for juniors to study.”