Long Beach State will renovate windows in Faculty Office 2 and will be finished by the time the faculty moves in for 2022 fall semester, according to Michael Gardner, campus project manager at Physical Planning and Facilities Management.
“This will allow students to have a better experience when they see a professor for office hours,” Gardner said.
Other renovations to FO2 include air conditioning units, alongside changes such as repainting, interior and exterior repairs. These air conditioning units are also being replaced due to their old age and insufficient cooling.
“These units were also upgraded to also allow for better filtration for COVID-19 measures,” Gardner said.
The vintage windows have not been updated since 1957. The windows don’t match up with current technology, as they are hard to open, do not allow for good air filtration and have single panes of glass unlike modern windows which have two panes of glass. These changes are for a more modern aesthetic, according to Gardner.
Other adjustments are being made to the windows such as being more energy efficient, easier to open and have new panes of glass. The windows per office cost around ten thousand dollars and renovations are planned to be completed by the time faculty move in. This was funded through the state of California maintenance.
The construction and renovations will start before fall semester starts. There are plans to renovate the rest of the air filtration, windows and air conditioning around campus in the near future.
“The buildings on campus will be around for a long time, so we are trying to modernize it as much as possible,” Gardner said. “We want to have a beautiful campus but we want to modernize things, as most of these buildings are from the 1950s to 1970s.”