KING’S MOVES CLOSER TO THE SUNLIGHT

The influential school in the bottom of the Empire State Building just expanded its horizon to actually include sunlight. On Friday, February 13, the faculty and the provost officially moved into the schools newly leased space on the eighth floor of 330 Fifth Avenue, the entrance of which lies directly past the beloved 33rd Street Starbucks.

The plan has been in the works for about a year now, according to Chief of Staff Duanne Moeller. The school had a sublease in the Empire State Building that it decided to give up. An unsuccessful search for another sublease space led to the discovery of the space at 330 which the school could directly lease and build out. The space boasts offices for each full-time faculty member, ample room for adjunct professors, additional space to entertain donors, and two classrooms. The space also houses three non-King's organizations.

The World Journalism Institute, directed by Robert Case and Kim Collins, has subleased with the school for years, and will continue to do so in the new offices. In addition, Socrates in the City, headed by Eric Metaxas, and Trinity Grace Church, formerly Origins Church, will share space as well. The partnership with Trinity Grace was made possible through King's alumnus Josh Staton, who is now associate pastor at the church.

The open floor plan, large windows, high ceilings and breathtaking view of Fifth Avenue are some of the designs that highlight the new offices. Ginger Oakes, head of Special Projects, designed the space and opted for a more contemporary and modern feel, characterized by warm colors. This explains the orange cubicles, as opposed to typical neutral colors selected by most offices.

Besides the color scheme, the layout of the offices is atypical as well. Office floor plans usually place offices around the perimeter of the space, with hallways allocated to the center. But in the new space, in the interest of preserving the natural light as well as the fantastic views provided by the large windows, Moeller, in conjunction with Andy Mills, decided on a unique floor plan: the offices are in the center of the space, with the hallways relegated to the perimeter. Not only is it a more efficient use of space, but it better distributes the benefits of window light as well. As Oakes explained, extra money was put into utilizing glass doors with wood frames. This way, though twice-removed, natural light could easily enter each of the offices.

So what is the biggest change from the Empire State Building? "We have our own bathrooms on the floor!" Moeller laughed. "No more keys."

The move has generated a positive response from faculty as well. Politics professor Dr. David Corbin, whose old cubicle sat between those of English proffers Bearden Coleman and economics professor Dr. Douglas Puffert, used to struggle to find room for visiting students. He would usually have to move meeting with students to the 15th floor kitchen. Not anymore. Now that he has his own office, he looks forward to having discussions with students in private.

The move is indeed exciting, yet it has also put extra work on the agendas of ever-busy faculty members. The overall response has been a combination of excitement, anxiety, and relief. "It's been a lot of work," Moeller said, "but I think at the end of the day, we're very proud of the space. It's turned out very well."

The construction has not only cost time, but money. Oakes understand that, but thinks it’s worth it: "Sure you can do things more cheaply," she explained, "But again, part of the vision of The King's College is . . . excellence. . . . That's why we dress why we do, [and why] we learn to speak and communicate well. . . . [T]he way things look makes a big difference. It creates that first impression. The school has high standards, and that was not about to change with the way we do our décor."

A version of this story originally appeared in the student newspaper The Student Voice. Dela Cruz is a junior from New Jersey studying PP&E.