Art students at Elgin Community College are moving back into classrooms in Building H as 3 years of renovations wrap up. From updated equipment in art studios to entirely new classrooms and theaters, the project sought to change students’ interaction with the space.

Originally built in 1993, many of the analog systems in Building H quickly became outdated as new technologies arose. Renovations aimed to update these systems and introduce a more current, digital format to classrooms.

“At that time [of construction], the internet was barely a thing,” said Juan Fernandez, Director of Art and Design at ECC. “It was around, but it was dial-up. It wasn’t really in classrooms at all, especially here.”

Fernandez is part of the team working on the renovations in Building H. The project began in 2019 with the help of Dean Mary Hatch, Director of Facilities Ed Cook, and Production Director of the Arts Center Alex Desimone. Since then, both Hatch and Cook have retired. Director of Facilities Patrick Dolan and Dean Mary Perkins joined the project later on to help finish up the renovations.

The first phase of renovations in 2019 focused on updating the lobby of Building H and the Blizzard Theater. Towards the end of 2020, planning began for the second and current phase of renovations focused on updating the classrooms.

Major additions to the building include a new theater space and additional classrooms, along with the reworking of the layout of some original classrooms. Daniel Josh, Professor of Visual Arts at ECC, notes the importance of having these renovated spaces for students. 

“These spaces are not just bigger, but more organized,” Josh said. “There are some changes that are behind the scenes, like we placed venting for exhaust in places that were lacking. Several areas needed that, for example, the spray booth for our glaze ceramics room. A lot of the big changes were just having a safer environment.”

Other safety changes Josh mentions are the addition of safety switches that shut down machinery in case of emergency and improved lighting that allows students to work on their art in orderly spaces.

According to Fernandez, the biggest change to the building is the accessibility factor. 

“We were specifically looking at what barriers students faced,” Fernandez said. “Sometimes, [students] tell themselves ‘I can’t take an art class because I don’t have a computer’ or ‘I can’t take a photography class because I don’t have a camera.’ Well, we have checkout rooms for laptops and cameras so we can support students in that way.”

Professor Josh notes how enrollment has increased since he began in 2007. This semester, all his classes had wait lists. Ceramics, the largest class he teaches, has 17 students, the largest enrollment since he began teaching the program.

As students transitioned back into Building H this semester, some issues have occurred regarding the renovations, including problems with the temperature settings in classrooms and ordering equipment for specific classes.

“It’s just like a new house, moving in can be a bit rough,” Josh said. “Our biggest challenge we had was that a lot of our equipment was damaged during the move, and these aren’t just tiny pieces of equipment, they are very expensive. We had to order a lot of things, and that can take time.”

However, these issues are being resolved by the team running the renovations and haven’t disrupted the classes being held in the building.

“It will probably be a little bit before we can officially say we are completely done with the project, but for the most part, classes are being held and everything that needs to be done for classes is being done,” Fernandez said.

As for the future of Building H, new opportunities are in store for ECC art students. Notably, the addition of a Makerspace on the third floor of the building will be open to all ECC art students. ECC has intended this space as a community work area that will be available to art students who want to use technologies such as 3D printers, laser cutters, and CNC machines outside of the classroom.

“When I was in community college, it was really neat to have access to a lot of the stuff that I would never normally afford to do,” Josh said. “That’s the whole idea at ECC. We want to give you guys an opportunity. It could be the one and only opportunity somebody ever takes a course like glass, or ceramics, or whatever it is.”

According to Fernandez, by presenting these opportunities to students, ECC is helping foster the creation of world-class art.

“When you walk into something beautiful, you’re going to make something beautiful,” Fernandez said. “Great environments will produce great art.”