Campus: SFU Surrey, futuristic look
Iain W. Reeve, Associate News Editor
This week, SFU officially opened the new building for its third campus in Surrey. Home to approximately 2,000 students at this time, projections hope to see the school rise to a population of 10,000 by 2010. The Peak was on hand to take in the grand opening festivities, and to tour the campus.
SFU Surrey, located on King George Highway and within brief walking distance of Surrey Central Station, will serve primarily as the host for the Interactive Arts & Technology Department. This department will cover many cutting-edge technological fields, including animation and video game development. In addition to these choices, classes in the faculties of business, communications, engineering, various sciences, and continuing education are also available, with expansion coming in the future.
The grand opening included two days of events. Friday’s events included various speeches at the opening ceremonies, tours, dedications of the theatre and the learning commons, a lecture by campus architect Bing Thom, and an invitation-only gala dinner.
Saturday’s events included a philosopher’s café, attended by a diverse group of community members, more tours, and a variety of performances and showcases. These events included live music and dance, as well as some educational seminars, among others. The campus shares its building with two other schools, Stenberg College and Vancouver Career College. All three campuses are also attached to Central City Mall, providing access for students to various shops and services such as clothing stores, a liquor store, a food court, and salons. While there seems to be little direct attempt by the mall to recruit SFU students, its proximity means it will likely provide job opportunities for many. There is also a bar on campus.
The grand opening showcased two floors, with word of additional floors being opened in each of the next two years. It provides lockers and student parking — both of which are already in high demand — and a sizeable student lounge with full kitchen facilities open for use. The business and tech orientation of the school led the designers to include a substantial number of “team rooms,” or small rooms which can seat around eight people for group work. Four print stations are scattered throughout the campus, as are several small alcove-style lounges. There is even a student game room with ping-pong and other games.
The new library facilities contain 10-12,000 books, and 80 journals. They also have an exceptional media collection to go along with their screening room, and viewing stations. Perhaps the room which will inspire the most envy from other campuses is the game room. The room contains every major video game console on the market, as well as several board games. All video games for both consoles and computer are available for loan, as are systems. This is meant to complement the video game design classes, but hardcore gamers will inevitably make their way over for some fun.
The campus is architecturally sharp, bathed in natural light, contains unique seating arrangements, and a strong nautical-themed design including majestic wooden beams across the ceiling. All lecture halls have power at every seat, and the whole campus is wi-fi covered. SFU Surrey will no doubt make a fantastic home for SFU’s future tech, business, and science students, and is a welcome addition to the SFU family.