Response 01: Communication - Jake Beason

The room I have decided to write about is room R2230 located on the second floor of the Ross School of Business.

This room contains twelve evenly-spaced tables of various lengths.  Each table is equipped with between four and eight office chairs and is slightly curved so that it directs the students’ attention toward the front and center of the room.  Each row is slightly more elevated than the last so that all students are able to easily see the professor.  At the front of the classroom, there are multiple white boards, while two projectors are mounted on the ceiling.

This room is perfect for a business education.  As more and more people are wanting to pursue business, the ability of this room to accommodate sixty or more people is extremely beneficial.  Furthermore, this room is perfect for the presentation or lecture style of teaching that is prevalent in the field of business. 

Furthering its ability to accommodate business students, the seats in this classroom are on wheels and are able to swivel.  These chairs allow the students to easily collaborate with each other as they would in a realistic business situation.

In the back of the room, there are two large windows that allow some natural light to enter when appropriate (i.e. during times of note taking or reading).  When a multi-media presentation is in progress, much of the natural light can be blocked by pulling down the black shades above these windows.

While there is access to natural light, this room is dominated by artificial light.  The ceiling contains parallel rows of florescent lighting.  Not only does this give off plenty of light allowing the students to easily see and concentrate on lectures, but this creates a very uniform and industrial feel.

Overall, this space gives off a very “business-like” vibe.  This room not only seems reminiscent of an office environment because of its uniformity, but also because it is made of materials that one might typically see in an office: ceiling tiles, wooden panels, and florescent lighting.  From an aesthetic perspective, this room seems very “hard”.  The qualities that contribute to the hardness of this space include its composition of geometric shapes (rectangle white boards, square windows, and rows of lights), bright lighting, and its neat organization.