Students are enjoying vastly improved new lecture facilities in the Clattern lecture theatre at Kingston Univeristy. Elementa acted as building services consultants on the project working alongside the architects to enhance the student experience including careful coordination with specialist designers and stakeholders.
Student’s Union Vice-President (Learning and Teaching) Noor Khan described the feedback from students as ‘amazing’ and said the refurbishment had been a success.
‘It’s great to see what has been done as the result of students’ feedback. If this is the sort of quality we can expect from future refurbishments then students will be incredibly pleased.’
Teaching staff are equally delighted. Associate Professor in the School of Pharmacy and Chemistry Dr Reem Kayyali has already taught her students in the new space. She describes the experience as ‘fantastic’ and says the new layout helps her engage with every student. ‘The space is really well laid out and it means I can walk around, among the students and hear what each one has to say. It used to be only those in the front row you could really engage with. The layout means the students are also able to help each other in break-out groups. I used videos to illustrate different patient experiences and the voice and picture quality is unbelievably good. The students were very excited by it, and we still have lots of new features to explore.’
The seating layout and furniture design facilitate a range of learning formats in addition to the traditional lecture. Better audio visual and Wi-Fi facilities allow students and staff to use personal mobile devices for innovative group work and presentations.