Inside look at UNF’s newly renovated Skinner-Jones Hall
December 6, 2017
Video by Joslyn Simmons
The Skinner-Jones Hall Project is is almost done and Spinnaker got an inside look. Construction began Aug. 2016 and is expected to be completed by the beginning of next semester.
The original Skinner-Jones Hall was built in 1972, and part of it still exists in the new building. The side facing the core of campus is the renovated portion.
Some of the updates to the building include occupancy sensors, which are similar to motion sensor lights. If no one in the room is moving, the power to the outlet is cut off.
This is also the first building on campus to have LED lights, according to the assistant project manager. This save electricity and is better for the environment.
The Material Science and Engineering Research Facility has new microscope labs, which float on individual concrete slabs. These slabs prevent the microscopes from being disturbed by anything dropped on the floor outside of the rooms. So if someone were to drop something outside of the door, the other side of the door would not feel the vibrations.
Between the two science sections, there is a sand-filled wall that prevent disturbances from both sides.
John Cappadonna, AJAX assistant project manager, described why they decided to include this feature.
“So what that does is separate from everything going on, on the other side,which is funny enough is a geotech lab, where they break concrete and rocks,but that keeps the vibrations from affecting these microscopes,” Cappadonna said.
The building also has nursing labs that were built to look like actual operating rooms. The first floor has several general use classrooms. There is also a distance learning classroom, where classes can be recorded and posted online for distant learners.
In some labs, there are wheelchair accessible sinks which has drawers that provides space for the wheels.
The departments relocating to Skinner-Jones Hall include the College of Computing, Engineering, and Construction, social work, the Writing Center, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs: nursing, anesthesiologists and math.
Once Skinner-Jones Hall is open and everyone settled in, Building 50, which is currently the Science and Engineering Building, will be renovated for the Physics and Chemistry departments.
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