By Julia Craig ’24, staff writer  

Funkhouser has a new look this year.   

The dormitory was renovated this past summer; there were many additions to the newly remodeled building, including changes to dorms, restrooms as well as changes to the layout of the building. 

“The new floors are nice and the bathrooms are lovely,” Ariana Genna, a senior Resident Assistant, said. 

Vinyl wood floors were installed in every dorm room and restroom, while new bathroom stalls, sinks and showers were upgraded too.  

Two roommates and first-year students, Brooke Edwards and Abby Sanders, spoke about their favorite aspects of Funk so far.   

“The air conditioning in the dorms is nice,” Edwards said.   

“Everyone in Funk is nice, so I like that,” Sanders said. 

Major additions were added too, including a new lounge, kitchen and study rooms. In the basement, there is now a full kitchen, as well as a lounge with tables and couches. A new study room is also in the basement, right next to the kitchen and lounge.  

Edwards and Sanders described the lounge and study area as a place where people congregate.  The study room typically has anywhere from one to three people doing schoolwork.   

There are now more rooms on the first floor than there were before. During the renovation, the old lounges were taken out on the east and west side of Funk, which gave more room for additional dorms.   

There is a total of 13 RAs in the building this year, and they have already started to host building-wide events for the first-year students. 

“We had a social event where we had lawn games out like cornhole,” RA Ariana Genna, said.   

Genna said Funk is a great option for first-year students. The renovations totaled $4.7 million. 

Below is a complete list of the renovations:

• New fresh air and exhaust systems were installed – these allow heat or cooling energy to be recovered from the exhaust air to provide energy efficiency. This is air that is distributed into the hallways on each floor
• New electrical distribution panels were installed in the main mechanical room
• New high efficiency hot water heating system was installed
• New emergency generator was installed and relocated to move it away from the main entry on the south side of the building
• Old lounge areas and floor elevations were changed to avoid some of the stairs that existed in hallways
• A new central lounge and study room was built
• An elevator was installed for accessibility access
• Some room door openings were widened to allow accessibility (on floors serviced by the elevator)
• Accessible full bathrooms were added on the lower level
• A sprinkler system was added
• Drop ceilings were added to conceal the sprinkler piping
• New lighting was installed throughout the building
• All bathrooms were completely rebuilt including new plumbing piping
• New hallway and stairwell flooring was installed
• All surfaces were painted
• New signage was installed
• The south entrance was modified to allow for accessible entry
• The existing slate steps leading to each wing on the south side were demolished and new concrete steps were poured