TJ Day is on the way: Hall brings new light to campus

May 17, 2011

Bike rack — More bike racks will be installed in front of the south door of the TJ Day Hall. John Hall, sustainability coordinator and director of capital planning and development, said he expects the majority of students to enter the building from the south door.

Roof — TJ Day Hall’s roof has solar panels to capture sunlight and convert it into energy for the building. Hall said Oregon’s rainy weather doesn’t affect the panels. The roof is part of the Climate Change Plan that Linfield committed to in 2008, and will be an experiment to test the panels’ efficiency.

Classroom — This classroom in the first level has a 28-student capacity and will provide Wi-Fi and computer plug-ins at each table. Every wall has white boards for in-class use.

Valve — The water system in the basement will automatically adjust the temperature indoors. Hall said the automatic water system is the most expensive project for the building in the college’s sustainability efforts.

After starting the process of programming in early 2007 and breaking ground on July 7 2010, the renovation of the TJ Day Hall (formally known as Northup Hall) will be completed on June 13.

The building will be furnished and open to faculty in August, John Hall, sustainability coordinator and director of capital planning and development, said.

An automatic, sustainable heating and cooling system; a new lighting system; advanced technology, including LED screens and new projectors, have been purchased for the three-story building.

The first level has six classrooms, which contain tables and chairs that can easily be moved for conferences or speeches. And it is equipped with Wi-Fi and has computer plug-ins at each table.

The second level contains the Linfield Center for the Northwest, classrooms and the Department of Business with a computer lab, which will have student swipe card access.

The third level houses the Writing Center and offices for the departments of English, philosophy and economics.

Hall said that the new classrooms help to increase classroom capability on campus by 27 percent and have twice the number of white boards than standard classrooms.

Hall also said the building has large windows, which allows more natural light to enter the room. The inside temperature will be controlled automatically through an air-conditioning system that uses water pulled from the basement to the upper levels.

Because of security concerns with the new technology, Hall said a camera will be installed in the hallway on the second level, and the building’s security will record daily swipe card access. He also said he hopes students will not allow strangers to enter the building.

Video: “Renovation of Linfield College TJ Day Hall” by Jaffy Xiao

by Jaffy Xiao/Online editor
Jaffy Xiao can be reached at [email protected].