The Window Room

One of my new favorite rooms on campus is the window room (another lounge) on the 7th floor of South. It is located to the right of the elevators when you exit. The room has a really cool look to it, mostly because of the huge windows, but it’s also really high up and overlooks so much of our campus. To enter the room, one must stroll past the elevators and walk through the grand entrance way.

The entrance way is a space in its own. There are pillars that are on the sides of the entrance that really give it a special look. There is no door. The entrance is also arched, for a real royal look. Once you walk under the entrance, one can stop and sit on the floor/ edges of the walls. There is a small shelf that is just big enough for people to sit on. If you choose to continue in, you have to either go straight or turn right. There are three seating options in this room. One is the first area with a sofa, and a few chairs. The second option is a table with two chairs. The third option is another sofa and chair area that surrounds small tables that can be pulled apart and rearranged.

The tables great because they have a shelf built in underneath for any storage. The functionality of this room is great. All of the furniture can easily be moved if one needs it for extracurricular activities. I used it a few nights ago to hold my focus groups. I was able to pull all of the chairs around the table and create a circle. It was obvious I wanted people surrounding the table so when they all entered, everyone sat where I planned for them to sit. Success!

Lastly, during the day, the room is nice to use because of all the natural light. It feels like you are so high up overlooking buildings. I love it. The room also has lights built into the ceiling. There are two different types of lighting for this room. One is built in fluorescent lights and the other is three huge dome lights. During the day, the lights are usually dimmed down or turned off, but at night, depending on the need of the room, the lights are usually on. Come check out his space if you have a chance!

Campus Map..

Imagine going to a place and not knowing where to go. You show up and see buildings, but you have no idea what anything is. Or you know the name of the office, but you don’t know what building it is in… That’s Queens University of Charlotte! The campus maps are terrible.

Around campus, Queens placed campus maps on poles that are in good positions, but unfortunately are not very helpful. For students who know where offices are located, the map is great. For visitors who know nothing, the map is awful. Let’s first talk about the list provided under the map. There is a section dedicated to parking and then there is a building names list. The parking list is helpful, but the building names list is bad. The list is not in alphabetical order, which makes it close to impossible to quickly find the name of the building you are looking for. Even if you find the building, you have no idea what is in it.

By looking at the photo of the map, could you tell me what is in Jernigan Hall? NOPE! If new students come to campus and look for the admissions building, where do they go? I guess it is the Harris Welcome Center. What I am trying to explain is that Queens’ buildings have names, but they don’t help explain what is located inside of them.

The map above is actually a really good map, but unfortunately its’ key is poorly constructed. The map is actually built for an online campus map. Online, it has hotspots, making it an interactive map.  Unfortunately a good online map doesn’t always make a great paper map. The map shows a very accurate campus layout and it includes parking. There is even an arrow that points north. The only downside to the map is how Queens added some off campus buildings and didn’t place the pictures in the correct location. The reader assumes the off campus locations are in the direction to where they are placed on the map, even though that is wrong.

A good campus map would include a map like the one Queens has, once they’ve fixed some minor errors. The key would be in alphabetical order and office names would be included under each building name. There should also be a handicap accessible route. I would also suggest that the maps light up at night. Queens holds many evening events. Lastly, I would suggest that the maps become interactive, allowing students to touch the building name on the alphabetical list and have a dotted line light up and show the reader the way to the desired building.