Proposal for the Introduction of Student Accommodations to Sloan/Dana Halls

The Procedure for Adding Accommodations
The Dana and Sloan halls need to be renovated and extended to increase their functionality and ability to better serve the students who use them for learning purposes. As they are, they lack in dining area or cafe, lounges, and study spaces among other conveniences that have become standard across campus. The procedure for renovating and extending these halls will involve a series of steps that may lead to the minimal interruption of the students’ classes, consideration of the interests of all stakeholders, and improved standards of learning across campus. Efficiency in the construction process, and the utility of these buildings is also a priority (Xiaonuan, and SiuYu 343). The process should thus save time spent during construction and that wasted for students while construction continues.

Consulting All Stakeholders Within and Outside the Campus
The first step would be to consult all the stakeholders to ensure that all their interests are put in place. Students within the departments that use these halls should be prioritized. They should be asked what exactly they think should be added to both of these halls to make them more accommodating. These accommodations should then be considered and prioritized in consideration with the interests of the other stakeholders. The departments affected should also be consulted. Lecturers and other members of staff should be allowed to make their contributions regarding what is missing in the halls. The management and the contractors should the be the final contributors. The management is in terms of what their budgets are, while contractors will provide a better understanding of what can be done, and the best approaches for this. They will also help provide a final estimate for the structures that will be put up.

Stratified Renovations
Once the decisions have been made regarding what renovations and improvements need to be done, they should be given a time frame. The construction work should be done in a stratified manner, beginning with the Dana Halls and then the Sloan Halls. Stratification of the improvements and renovations ensures that the students’ timetables are not delayed and they graduate on time (Shiue et al. 5542). Safety measures set by the authorities should be maintained during this period. The university has thousands of students who need to be sufficiently informed regarding the ongoing construction work. They should be redirected to the new spaces. Barricades and safety nets should be put in place to ensure that the construction workers and any other person within the campus facility are safe. This procedure should be followed for both the Dana and Sloan Halls.

Study Spaces
In each hall, the study spaces should be prioritized. A significant amount of the construction work involves the creation of more spaces. Some of the available halls need to be extended. Structurally, this should be the first undertaking to ensure the safety measures are put in place. The new walls and structures should then be completed into lecture halls and other study spaces. This will ensure that the interruption of the studies is minimized as there will be more lecture halls and other study spaces as construction progresses in the adjacent hall essentially making the spaces more accommodating (Khozaei et al. 299). Once the study spaces have been completed, the learning can continue with minimal interruptions as construction goes on in the sections requiring the dining areas and the sitting lounge.

Dining Area/Lounge
In each case, the dining area should be given the last priority. Tis is because no food can be prepared or eaten in a place where construction is ongoing. It is also easier to function without these areas as there are other similar spaces in other departments and common areas. The construction and renovation of these spaces should begin with the kitchen. The kitchen area is the most complex as it has to consider its capacity in terms of the amount of food that needs to be cooked, number of staff needed, and the space they all need. The remaining space should then be used for the dining area. Additionally, the kitchen area needs to be in the interior of the building while the dining spaces can be extensions to the main structure. This will allow the kitchens to be connected to the main utilities of the place including gas, electricity, and the much-needed air-conditioning system. Upon completion of the dining areas, the seating areas should also be considered not just at the dining area, but across the building and its surrounding spaces to ensure students and members of staff have both outdoor and indoor resting spaces. This procedure should be repeated for the two halls in question.

In conclusion, the first step should be to consult all the stakeholders to make sure the project takes in all the considerations before the commencement of the tasks. The second step would be to strategize the construction by renovating and extending one hall at a time. The construction and renovation should start with the study areas/lecture halls to make sure that studies are continue seamlessly when the second hall is under renovation as there will be more spaces in the first. The next step will be the construction of the dining area that should be done together with the lounge. The kitchen should be prioritized while the dining areas and the lounges take the remaining spaces towards the outer areas of the buildings.

Works Cited
Khozaei, Fatemeh et al. “Development and Validation of the Student Accommodation Preferences Instrument (SAPI)”. Journal of Building Appraisal, vol 6, no. 3-4, 2011, pp. 299-313. Springer Science and Business Media LLC, doi:10.1057/jba.2011.7. Accessed 28 July 2020.
Shiue et al. “Renovation Construction Process Scheduling for Long-Term Performance of Buildings: An Application Case of University Campus”. Sustainability, vol 11, no. 19, 2019, p. 5542. MDPI AG, doi:10.3390/su11195542. Accessed 28 July 2020.
Xiaonuan, Sun, and Stephen LAU SiuYu. “Existing Buildings’ Operation and Maintenance: Renovation Project of Chow Yei Ching Building at the University of Hong Kong”. International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies, vol 10, no. 4, 2014, pp. 393-404. Oxford University Press (OUP), doi:10.1093/ijlct/ctu008. Accessed 28 July 2020.