By Bryanne Whatley
Construction on the new Joseph F. Smith Building is ending and the College of Humanities and departments from the College of Family, Home and Social Sciences are moving in.
Although faculty and administrators have started to occupy the building, the JFSB, formerly known as the Smith Family Living Center, will not accommodate classes until the beginning of Spring Term. Dedication of the building will take place in the fall.
The three-level, 275-stall underground parking structure is scheduled to open sometime in February and will only be available to faculty with an ?A? permit-parking pass.
With more than 450 full-time faculty and staff moving into the JFSB, the new parking lot will not alter access of other lots, it will only replace Lot 14 that was in the same location.
The JFSB is one of the largest buildings on campus and the only building to offer international television, a turntable classroom and natural lighting for almost every room.
With more than twice the square footage of the previous building, the JFSB is a facility that will allow light in ?direct touch with the heavens,? to pour over the students while they learn, said Van Gessel, Dean of the College of Humanities.
For the past 20 years, the College of Humanities has been located in the Jesse Knight Humanities Building, and the growing department has long since wanted a new building.
?Everyone is getting giddy about the new building and work situation,? said humanities professor George Handley. ?The offices are ideal for humanities because of the amount of shelving they offer for all our books.?
Ample space is exactly what the JFSB offers for the two largest colleges on campus. Handley said the contractors figured the courtyard alone is large enough to house the Tanner Building.
This courtyard, designed by the architectural firm FFKR, is what enables all offices in the building to have a natural light source.
?The courtyard archways are reminiscent of the medieval European universities that were founded by religious institutions seeking knowledge from God,? Gessel said. ?The concept of learning in the light has been with us from the outset.?
Another unique feature is the International Sports Center, where students can watch international television.
?The idea of the International Center is to bring people in so they can have the opportunity to practice their language skills outside of class,? said Harold Hendricks, supervisor of the Humanities Learning Resource Center.
Although called the International Sports Center, this facility will not offer food or primarily tune into sports channels. Classes and clubs will have the opportunity to hold lessons in a kitchen located in the sports center and courses such as French will be able teach while cooking French food, hopefully enriching their whole experience, Hendricks said.
A turntable classroom that can transform two smaller rooms and one larger one into a 250-seat auditorium is another feature of the JFSB.
