By: Nicolas Saravia / Staff Writer
After the reconfiguration of an existing pond, landscape changes and redirected utility lines, the $40 million project equipped with classrooms and administrative offices officially opened for the spring semester.
Completed two years after its official groundbreaking, the new home of the School of International and Public Affairs is a 58,400-square-foot complex specifically designed to comply with the Silver Category of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.
LEED is an accreditation that recognizes improved environmental quality and responsibility.
The Ruth K. and Shepard Broad Auditorium has a capacity for 484 students—making it the largest space of its kind on campus.
The two-story auditorium has a unique 10,000 square foot green roof, which is the first in the University and currently the largest in South Florida.
The College of Arts and Sciences is currently hosting a campaign to name each of the auditorium seats for a donation.
A VIP section seat is available for naming for a $1,000 gift, while the remaining seats can be purchased for $100.
Destined to become a venue for high profile events and lectures, the auditorium will be outfitted with top of the line broadcast media equipment.
The SIPA building has become the new home to several departments and their administrative offices.
The Department of Global and Sociocultural Studies and the Department of Politics and International Relations have moved to the third and fourth floors respectively.
Middle East, Asian, and European Studies programs have now relocated to the fifth floor of the new complex.
Faculty members moving from Deuxième Maison, their former office spaces to their new places in SIPA have certainly noted a difference.
“I had a windowless box office before, so obviously I think it is fabulous. The more light in my life the better,” said Caroline Faria, assistant professor at the Department of Global and Sociocultural Studies.
“The space is beautiful, bright and comfortable. In my previous office in DM, I could only accommodate one student, and here I will be able to meet with up to four,” said Liliana Goldin, professor of social and economic anthropology. “We often need to meet with groups and this is one of the best features of the new space,”
“It is also a plus to be able to control the room temperature,” added Goldin.
Classes hosted in the SIPA building range from several disciplines such as English to biology, but primarily focus on SIPA related courses.
The building’s new features, both interiorly and exteriorly, have impressed students coming through for class.
“I particularly like this building because, since it is new, everything is very nice and clean,” said Junior Christine Foulks.
The building was designed by the Architectonica firm, which has worked on projects such as the Bronx Museum of Arts, the American Airlines Arena and the United States’ embassy in Lima, Peru.
Its location on the Modesto Maidique Campus has some students questioning the building’s functionality, but its modern style continues to draw in student approval.
“The building is very nice, offers a lot of facilities and classrooms that will be very helpful to the school. I have two classes there and it’s great,” said Richard Castro, freshman and business administration major. “The only downside is that it’s a bit out of the way from other more utilized classrooms like in the Graham Center or the Chemistry and Physics building.“
Although the building has been operational since Jan. 10, the SIPA building project is not over.
Outside of the auditorium, SIPA hopes that a future Japanese garden will “serve as an educational and healing tool as well as aesthetic attraction and event venue.”
I prefered that nice green lawn over this new building and now cluttered campus.