Beginning in May 2014, Zura Hall underwent extensive renovation in order to improve the experience of students living on campus. With a budget of more than $53 million, San Diego State successfully completed the project on Aug. 20 — just in time for students to move in for the new school year.
Improvements included increased accessibility for disabled individuals, such as bathrooms, and elevator stops on every floor instead of only even-numbered floors. Other improvements listed are augmented sustainability efforts, advanced infrastructure systems, increased study and lounge space for residents, and even a rooftop terrace.
Zura Hall may be newly renovated, and therefore highly desirable for students who live on campus, but this does not necessarily mean that Zura residents have it better. Despite many enhancements to Zura Hall, some have apprehensions about their living arrangements — specifically those who must share a dorm with three other students.
“For a quad, it might be a little too small,” said Adrian Gonzalez, a freshman resident of Zura. A quad is a room shared by four students.
Gonzalez’s dorm measures 10 feet 3 inches in width and 22 feet and 3 inches in length. Given that the beds in Zura measure a little over 3 feet in width, this leaves a mere 4 feet in walkway space between either roommates’ side of the dorm.
Sydney Laciste and Corina Tyner, both freshmen, share a quad in Zura with two other students.
“It’s kind of small for four people, and there’s a narrow walkway, but we fit in it,” said Laciste.
Quads are the cheapest rooms available. Prior to the renovation of Zura, the maximum number of roommates housed in a single dorm room was three.
“It’s definitely worth the price that we got. It’s a little weird, because the bottom bunk, she has a desk that’s across the room,” Tyner said.
Laciste’s and Tyner’s room measures the same as Gonzalez’s in length, but is one foot wider. This provides Laciste and Tyner with an extra foot in walkway space, which may not seem significant, but in a room with four people, it matters greatly.
Some Zura doubles, which are rooms for two residents, measure 11 feet in width and almost 17 inches in length — only about five feet from matching the dimensions of a quad.
Students in dorms should be able to live comfortably while also getting the most for their money. Although residing in a double provides more space, dorms should take advantage of the space footage, especially where space-saving furniture such as lofts could be utilized.
