As part of a broader Space Study Review of facilities on campus, Bader Hall has become all the cosier for its residents thanks to the reimagining of two previously underutilised common spaces. Firstly, the C1 Common Room was completely emptied and redesigned at the end of 2017. Newly decorated, with brand-new floors, furniture and fixings, it is now the place to hang out after class. The space can not only comfortably seat approximately twenty students at any one time, but it also boasts facilities to suit a variety of the students’ needs.
For those who just want to relax, there are sofas and an internet-enabled wide-screen television, so that students can stream news and popular shows from home. For the Bookworms, there are comfy armchairs with focusable reading lights. Those in need of refreshments can make themselves drinks and snacks in the adjoining kitchenette, then retire to the coffee tables, or island sofa to chat. For students in need of a quick social media fix, or perhaps a last-minute tweak to an assignment, a Laptop Bar with handy desktop power sockets has been placed in one corner of the room. The entire space also features USB charging sockets throughout, to allow students to charge their mobile devices without having to sacrifice laptop power.
“But what of the much-loved old sofas and armchairs that used to add so much colour to the old C1 Common Room?”, we hear your cry. Well, perhaps not, but there may at least be some of you who will be happy to learn that the comfiest of the old sofas were offered a reprieve from the removal van and relocated downstairs, to our second reimagined space – the new Cinema Room in the basement.
Where there was once just an empty space, a projector and Wi-Fi booster have been installed on the ceiling, and an HDMI port has been fitted to the wall, so that students can plug in and stream movies directly from their laptops onto the basement wall. The room also has a DVD/Blu-Ray player, black-out blinds, surround speakers and a sound bar, so our students have absolutely everything they need to host a top-notch movie night.
Whatever you may think of its eclectic collection of seating options, The Cinema Room is very popular with our students, and it will shock no-one to learn that since it opened, scarcely a week has gone by without at least one Harry Potter movie being shown! We suppose there is no accounting for taste, but The Castle Herald has absolutely no doubt whatsoever that these new facilities will be a hit with BISC students for many years to come.