The Wakerly Media Lab in Johnston Hall reopened after its complete overhaul this summer featuring new designs, technology and an atmosphere to give students tools and inspiration to accomplish work they weren’t able to do previously.
The lab now boasts raised ceilings, beanbag chairs, projection walls, new iMacs, virtual-reality gaming and even a 3D printer. More additions to the lab are coming throughout the semester.
James Brust, director of the Wakerly, and the student media team are working to learn what would best benefit the students. By testing out new furniture and decor design, the students will ultimately choose what they like the most.
Brust and the staff are finding ways to accommodate students’ day-to-day needs along with high-end and innovative technology that students might not have access to, such as 3D printing and VR.
The Wakerly offered workshops in the past, including Adobe Premiere, InDesign and other programming. Now the lab has the capacity to offer even more options to the public. The staff may potentially offer a 3D modeling course to teach students how to use the 3D printer.
“It’s a resource and a collision space,” Brust said. “Why we have the whiteboard and students’ projects is that artifacts of others’ creativity can motivate people to inspire something for themselves.”
Keith Rocheck, assistant director and manager of technical services, set up and played with the new virtual reality video game.
“James put a lot of time into getting that space designed the way he needed it to fall within the needs of the college,” Rocheck said. “I’ll definitely be in there more now that there’s VR and I like playing video games.”
There are various social media accounts dedicated to the lab. However, the staff plans on creating more of an online presence with an entire website dedicated to helping and engaging students with the lab.
“It’s nice to have a place where students can connect, not just comm majors but everyone,” said Matthew Angel, a senior in the College of Communication.
The final version of the lab is projected to be completed by the beginning of the spring semester.
