By JAMES STEELE
Yale Faculty members have been in Kline Tower, a newly renovated building for over two weeks.
Affected faculty reported that while two members of the faculty are satisfied with the improvements made to the building in terms of renovation, there remain a number issues, such as inadequate privacy or meeting rooms. But they are still hopeful that there will be further solutions.
Kline Tower was closed from November 2019 to June 2020 for the renovations. The original completion date of summer 2022 was pushed back by one year because of the COVID-19 virus pandemic. However, they were completed this summer. This renovated tower will be home to the departments of mathematics, statistics, data sciences, astronomy and a part of physics before the 2023-2024 academic year.
Over the years, opinions on this tower and how it was redesigned have varied.
Sarbani Basu of the Department of Astronomy said the interior layout was redesigned. The workers repiped the plumbing system and changed bathroom placements. They also removed the ceiling ventilation as well as many other non-load bearing elements. Basu said that the resulting space was much more appealing visually than its previous version.
According to Joel Rosenbaum of the biology department, who was a professor in the tower prior to its renovations, it did not promote faculty communication.
Rosenbaum, a reporter for the News said: “It’s a building that was hard to work in.” From the beginning, there were major issues with the building. It’s possible to go weeks with no contact from a fellow colleague. Scientists love to chat with each other.”
Rosenbaum told us that, in the former building there were only two to three researchers on each of its 14 floors. Researchers who worked on different levels rarely interacted with each other. Slow elevators also caused a lot of frustration.
If the fragile glass pipe system of the tower, which carried the distilled-water water, broke — especially in upper floors — then the whole building would be flooded. Rosenbaum says that these flooding incidents occur two to three time per year.
In the tower, it was difficult to conduct classes. Rosenbaum claimed that there were very few rooms to accommodate anything bigger than a small seminar.
As a result, Priyamvada Natarjan, astronomy Professor, is pleased that the redesign addressed these and other issues.
Natarajan finds that one of the unexpected advantages of this new building is its abundance of natural light.
Natarajan, a reporter for the News said: “They have done magic.” “It is just wonderful, very positive and I am literally gushing because the natural light inside the buildings was so beautiful.
Basu explained that white and clear glass panels cover the walls of the new structure, making it appear cleaner.
Basu added that the renovations seem to have solved the problem of flooding. She informed the News that there have been no floods since the renovation.
Rosenbaum’s concern for communication was also addressed by the redesign, which included triplet staircases. Triplet staircases allow users to enter the space they were in before entering the central stairwell. These stairs are meant to give researchers more freedom to roam the different floors in the building.
Natarjan described the idea as “brilliant”, allowing researchers to be connected on different floors.
It’s fantastic that we are co-located, she added. She said that the future possibilities of collaboration, communication and community building [are] going to be amazing.
The new Kline Tower is still plagued by many of those issues that faculty members raised in relation to the older Kline Biology Tower. Basu claims that the elevators continue to be extremely slow.
She described an overall decrease in the amount of office space compared to her former location. Basu could once hold meetings at her desk on a table. Her new office in Kline Tower, however, is too small to do so.
Faculty are most concerned about two things. Basu and Natarajan both listed privacy concerns and space requirements for colloquiums as their primary concerns.
The building is not soundproofed as many walls are thin, transparent glass. This means that conversations can easily be heard through the walls. Soundproofing is lacking in even designated Zoom meeting rooms. Zoom conversations are easily heard through glass walls, and outside conversations can interfere with Zoom calls.
Natarajan expressed his concern. “This situation is very troubling for me and my colleagues, especially as Chair [of Astronomy].” The faculty find it difficult to have a private Zoom call anywhere. The speakers are not soundproof. The soundproofing is completely non-existent.
Another concern is that there’s no space in the building to host a colloquium – a group of 70 or so people who are invited by a university guest to speak. Natarajan believes that colloquiums allow scientists to stay informed and share information.
Basu also added that the size of other classrooms on campus is not desirable.
Natarajan explained that the colloquium was a crucial part of Yale’s intellectual life. We were assured a place.
Natarajan said that initially, Yale Conference Services was assigned the space originally promised to the Astronomy Dept. For the Astronomy to have access to this space on 14th floor, they would be required to pay Yale Conference Services a $2,500 fee per colloquium.
Natarajan explained that because the Astronomy Dept. holds 26 colloquia every year, the fee per annum would come to around $67,000. The price is too high for the Department.
Faculty members in the building have high hopes for their solution.
Natarajan stated, “I was very excited for the official inauguration. I wanted to allow everyone to have a look around.” “I’m completely confident that (the building issues) will be resolved.”
Kline Biology Tower, located at Prospect St. 219
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