by Rebecca Hurtado Fairweather
UC Santa Barbara debuted a new facility this spring, titled the Interactive Learning Pavillion (ILP), which was designed to accommodate up to 2000 students in the building. The ILP stands next to the Davidson Library in the center of campus.
The new Interactive Learning Pavilion has opened its doors this quarter and is ready for the limitless possibilities UCSB has to offer. The new building features outdoor seating, study areas, classroom space, and lecture halls that seek to make learning at UCSB a bit easier.
Isabella Mendoza, a second-year feminist studies major at UCSB, is hopeful that the new building will provide less stress for students registering for classes, but is disappointed in the lack of bike paths, applauding students who chalked the grounds outside the ILP on Thursday morning for creating a bike path of their own. She looks forward to studying at the ILP’s outdoor seating area overlooking the Santa Barbara coastline and Storke Tower.
The building has been divided into three parts, with an open air layout, allowing students to have more space to travel to and from classes without disrupting others.
The first floor is dedicated to outdoor seating and study areas, giving students the opportunity to bask in the sunlight while completing their studies.
Lecture halls are also a feature of the first two floors, aiming to hold 175 to 350 students. These halls were designed in a tiered horseshoe to make small group work easier and ensure maximum visibility.
There are 20 classrooms that can hold up to 30 students that are equipped with glass whiteboards, moveable chairs and tables, and new high-tech projectors, aimed at making smaller sections easier for students and teachers.
More indoor study rooms have also been added to the building, providing more access to quiet spaces across campus. These study rooms, unlike the library, do not have to be reserved prior.
Three Project-Based Learning rooms are purposely designed to encourage and facilitate small group learning. These rooms allow students to have access to a computer monitor, a glass whiteboard, moveable microphones, and multiple perspective projections.
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