The decision to swap Divisional space in Building 2 with Category A space in Building 9 has some impact on the Technical Services Unit: between 1 and 12 November all the Division's equipment and materials will have to be removed from Building 2 and either disposed of or relocated.
We have no storage space in the Division, so most items no longer in use will have to be dumped: this particularly has an impact on the School of Languages and International Education, by far the greatest user of the space. School staff should ensure, by 1 November, that arrangements are made to keep any items currently in Building 2 to be retained: anything not claimed will be disposed of then.
IELTS testing
Some of the space in Building 2 to be handed back to Facilities and Services has been used for IELTS testing. At this stage there are no plans to replicate the facilities elsewhere in the Division, so alternative arrangements will need to be made for any future IELTS testing.
Timetabling
The Division is unlikely to have the funds in 2005 to replace the Information Management lab computers, which are well beyond their replacement dates. Any classes that were to be using the Information Management lab next year will have to be rescheduled into Building 10 or other Divisional labs.
All other classes currently timetabled in Building 2, apart from the Languages Computer lab which will move to Building 9 in November 2004, will be rescheduled into newly refurbished Category A rooms in Building 2 to be completed over the 2004-2005 summer break. It is also hoped to move any classes currently scheduled into the Category A spaces in Building 9 to refurbished Building 2 spaces, leaving the rooms in Building 9 available for short term bookings until the reorganisation can take place there.
Minor Works
The Division put in an ambit minor works bid to spend $175,000 in 2005 on refurbishments to Building 9, to repurpose the space from 9B14 through to 9B27 to better suit the current and future needs of the Division. It was proposed that a consultant designer be brought in to work with the various stakeholders in the Division and in Facilities and Services, to come up with a detailed costed proposal which would then be implemented.
Facilities and Services has advised that the proposal is not specific enough to be considered by the Buildings and Site Committee, but has agreed to take forward a proposal for the contracting of a consultant designer to work with the Division and, with Facilities and Services, to come up with a costed plan that would then form the basis for a bid in the 2006 round of minor works proposals.
In the meantime, the Building 2 Languages lab will be moved to Building 9, and some refreshing of other areas would be undertaking late this year or early in 2005.
