A Classy Upper Classman Classily Classifies Classrooms
If the Athenian School was alive, classrooms would be its cells—metaphorically and quite literally. A school is a place for education, and classrooms are the smallest unit in which that purpose is fulfilled. In another sense, some students may describe classrooms after lunch as some sort of prison cell. After all, students spend most of their school time in classrooms taking classes, attending clubs, eating lunch, or simply relaxing.
The Athenian campus holds a variety of classrooms to meet its diverse educational needs, and this article will examine the different aspects and uniqueness of each building, starting from the CIS (the order of classrooms is not their rankings and irrelevant to their quality).
The Carter Innovation Studio (CIS)
Being one of the newest buildings on campus, the CIS is filled with a modern spirit. Two classrooms at its corner embody minimalist and industrial design with their cold dark concrete floors, pale white walls, and metal pipes crossing each other perpendicularly right beneath the ceiling. Each aspect of the interior is clean, functional, and neatly organized. With all the 3D printers, laser cutters, and machines, one can feel like participating in the cutting edge of technological innovation for humanity. Sadly, technological innovation comes at a cost because occasionally you may be disrupted from class hearing the thundering noise from the machinery running or materials hitting the floor when someone accidentally drops them. The proximity of the CIS to Main Hall and the center of campus provides convenience for students to move to the next class or lunch. However, needing to go around the whole building in order to use the Main Hall restrooms is a bit odd considering the fact that the CIS is directly next to Main Hall. Overall, it is one of the best classrooms on the campus, especially if you want to focus on your work—assuming you have your headphones.
2. The Knolls
Almost all humanities classes are taught in the Knolls. They have notoriously dysfunctional awnings that can properly block neither sun nor rain. Apart from them, also being recently constructed like the CIS, The Knolls’ classrooms are pristine. Yet, contrary to their STEM counterpart, their light grey cork walls, along with the dark grey carpeted floor and white ceiling tiles, creates a cozy mood that shows the warmth and romanticism of humanity as opposed to the colder vibe of STEM. Thanks to the cork wall, teachers can customize their classrooms using a few push pins on posters, making each classroom represent its teacher’s taste and the class taught there. Moreover, a dark gray floor, light gray walls, and white ceiling create a gradation of color, developing a sense of gravity where the light color rises up and the dark color settles down. It is obvious that these classrooms are carefully designed—except those awnings— so if you want to have some leisure or work time on campus, the Knolls are one of the top choices.
3. The Wang Science Center
Wang Science Center, as the name suggests, is for science classes and is split into two buildings: one below and the other next to the Knolls. The one below was built along with the Knolls, which makes them as pristine as the Knolls but also has the same dysfunctional awnings. While they provide excellent materials and space for learning, they are not accessible to students outside of class time for most of the time they are locked to prevent students from using them because of safety. When it rains, before the class sometimes students have to wait outside of the classroom for a teacher to open the door, and those awnings are not so helpful.
The other part of Wang Science Center does feel a bit worn out but still has interesting modern architecture, and its awning does provide practical shelter from sun and rain. Moreover, the garden full of succulent plants adjacent to buildings is one of the best on campus, although there are not so many gardens in Athenian. The best part of these buildings is that they have their own restrooms and water fountains, so instead of having to walk to other buildings, students can freely hydrate themselves and take care of their needs.
4. The Center For The Arts (CFTA)
The CFTA has the most unique classroom environment for their creek with gigantic trees—some alive, some lying dead—and their isolated location, which perhaps reflects the originality of art and its distinctiveness from other academic disciplines. It is the farthest building from all other buildings on campus, so one has to carefully calculate their travel time and make sure they take all of their items with them; otherwise, they will find themselves getting late to class or having to go all the way back to the CFTA to get their stuff and come all the way back. The building is also outworn, showing the length of time it has gone through. However, if one is looking for a place to spend their long free time, the CFTA is the best place to have a calm rest hearing the tranquil sound of the creek flowing and breathing the fresh air filtered by rich green lives.
5. Middlefield
There is nothing inherently wrong with Middlefield classrooms, but they are not as neatly organized as other classrooms. The combination of their color and structures feels like an impromptu compared to other buildings that show harmony among their aspects. This is understandable by the fact that they were installed as modules a long time ago and never taken away. It is also far from restrooms, which do provide a good opportunity for students to have a little more free time whenever going out for those excuses. Middlefield classrooms also have the widest—almost seemingly arbitrary—class range from Computer Science, English, History, Mathematics, and Photography, to Filmmaking. They are relatively close to the Main Hall, but more importantly, they have the student store right behind them which provides reliable food sources for hungry teenagers.
6. Orchard
The Orchard exclusively hosts math classes—except PE—so whenever one needs help with math this is a place to go where many math teachers and teaching assistants are always available. Orchard classrooms are the perfect average of Athenian classrooms because they are not as new and clean as the Knolls and the CIS but they are not as old and unrefined as Middlefield classrooms. Every March, the orange tree in front of classroom A flourishes with beautiful orange flowers, attracting not only butterflies but also biology students studying plant anatomy.
