Students looking for a relaxing but aesthetic study space can head to T109 to see NAITSA’s newest mural. The former classroom was converted to a student study space last January. While students have been using the space, NAITSA President Jenna Luczak noticed the usage rate died off after 4 p.m. “We did see that there were a lot of students who used the space, but after 4, after actual school time, it wasn’t really used,” she explained.
Luczak believes that the décor of the room contributed to the lack of usership outside of school hours. “It was very cold, it just felt unloved,” she said. “It’s a beautiful mural to really attract students to the space and also make the space feel a bit less classroom-y.”
Painted by Tyler Hochhalter, a Calgary-based artist, the mural features leaves and flowers painted in shades of green—a colour specifically designed to promote relaxation and productivity. “It is green, so it’s not very distracting, it’s very natural, it’s calming. Those were the kind of vibes that we wanted.” This was not Hochhalter’s first mural at NAIT; he’s previously painted the mural by the washrooms in the Nest and the Ooks Life Wings mural in CAT.
Luczak hopes having a more welcoming space encourages students to stay in the room longer and study harder. “It’s a personal bias, but having spaces that are beautiful can make people more productive,” she said. “Something that is visually enticing … it can stimulate you to be in that space for longer and to study a bit harder. Because if you’re in an uninviting space, then you’re not going to want to be there, and then you might just pack up, go home and not study.”
