The ASU Polytechnic campus welcomed students Tuesday with an impossible-to-miss, high-tech renovated building.
Massive lettering etched into the building's surface displays its unusual name: Studio 90.
Engineering Professor Mark Henderson said the name came from The Williams Air Force base. The base numbered all the buildings and this one was number 90, he said.
"We liked it-- it sounds techno," Henderson added.
The building was used to serve hungry Air Force personnel over the course of several decades when the current Polytechnic campus was still a military base, vice provost Terry Isaacson said.
Today, students can be on their laptops while listening to an instructor portray information on large plasma-screen televisions that hang down in the one-room facility.
Studio 90 contains state-of-the-art equipment and excludes the lecture-hall type of environment.
Students sit at workstations where, as opposed to learning theory, will work together on building robots, Henderson said.
This will be a change for many of the students, as the old facilities separated the work and shop functions, said Jones Benyi of Jones Studio.
Jones Studio, an architecture firm, was involved in the design of the building.
Henderson said the structure of the facility was stable, so Jones Studio was able to retrofit the building to fit in with the needs of students. He said he has been involved with the project since its inception.
"The interior architecture's main goal is to present an open, accessible space that allows groups to work and learn," Benyi said.
Many students were excited about the new facilities.
Mechanical Engineering Major Matt Cenci said the old facilities were too small.
"I think it's great," Cenci said. "It seems to be able to accommodate all the classes and have all the tools we need to get going."
Some students, like education, science, and engineering major Senyay Yasar, said it was a marked improvement over the former facilities.
"It's cool," Yasar said. "It is bigger, high-tech, and very cold."
Travis Venson, an engineering major, said he was impressed by the new facilities and was eager to explore the new equipment.
"I haven't seen the whole studio yet," Venson said. "It seems to be very innovative."
