Rebuild delayed once again

The new openings in the Union Rebuild have once again been overshadowed by delays and disappointment.

The Students’ Union announced further delays in the Rebuild with the completion of Phase 2 and the final opening date moved from before Freshers 2009 to just before Christmas.

Phase 2 is now being cut into Phase 2 a and b. Phase 2a includes the atrium, deli and pool room and will be finished October; 2b consists of the Piazza Cafe and the Terrace Bar and will be ready for the public at the end of Term One of next academic year.

The news of more delays comes as a disappointment to students who feel they have been waiting a long time for the end of the Rebuild. Particularly freshers who feel they have not had a real Union this year and finalists who will not be here next year to enjoy the final result.

The Copper Rooms opened on May 18, Monday Week 5, with Top Banana. The event was free to “to thank students for their continued patience,” said Mike Pidgeon, Students’ Union Communications Officer. It was well attended with students lining up from the entrance by Whitefields to University Road. Once inside students were able to see for the first time the result of the £11 million Rebuild they had been waiting for since the start of Term Three.

The initial reactions were mixed with some students, especially those who had been in the old Union, complaining that it wasn’t much of a change. The first years were on the whole positive, with one Business School student saying, “Its pretty cool, its great how big it is. We’ve been waiting so long for something like this.”

Many echoed this sentiment, happy to have “a real club” as opposed to the TES or Tempo.

Rouge, or the red room, has been the most significant new addition and has been the most popular with students. “The Rouge room is pretty classy,” said Dominique Esseen-jayes, a first year International Business student. Room One is adjacent to Rouge and Room Two is upstairs.

Others have complained that the fact that one has to walk through it to get to Room Two, as the stairs are in Rouge, means it doesn’t quite reach its potential. “[Its] a rather stupid layout,” said Cecilia Akerman, a final year Management student.

Pidgeon, however, explains that “the sight lines to the stage are vastly improved on the previous building” and that the layout had been very carefully thought out and planned.

The biggest issue has been queues at the bars and many students ask why the bars were not made larger.

Pidgeon explained that “Although the bars are not as physically large as many were expecting, they have been designed with efficiency in mind, and it is actually far quicker to get served in this building than the previous one.”

He added that a new bottle bar will be opening for Term One of next year.

Another criticism has been the organisation of the nights.

“The main problem is music,” said Michael Boham, a final year student. “There should be rooms dedicated to different types of music.”

While the previous Union had rooms dedicated to different types of music the new Union does not to the same extent. While there are differences in the music it is not as clearly defined as was the division between the Market Place and the Cooler.

The Union hoped that the size of the new venue would mean bigger acts would be attracted. The live capacity in Room 1 is 1200 and Room 2 has 400 to 500 live capacity. While for normal nights in the Copper Rooms the capacity is over 2000.

So far The Streets performed with free tickets handed out for the gig to the students “most badly affected by both the rebuild and the noise from the TES” said Pigeon. Feeder will be coming later this week.

Students in Whitefields criticised the Union for not having ensured sufficient noise insulation, especially during exam time. While some say they can still hear the music, this has been sufficiently reduced since the time of TES.

At the opening night people were “noisy and already drunk…we felt uncomfortable going out or being in the kitchen,” said Natasha Butters, a Whitefields resident. Otherwise “it hasn’t been too bad.”

One consequence of the Rebuild which has been noted by many students towards the end of this term is the state of the Piazza. As many students celebrate the end of exams there in particular or just want to be outside during the sunnier months the fact that most of the Piazza is a construction site has been a disappointment. Especially for final years.

“We got really screwed over,” said one.

The completion of the Terrance Bar (pictured above) should be finished in Term One of the next academic year.

Prospective students who are starting at Warwick next year may not be fully aware of the fact that they will not have the full Union they were promised in Open Days when they start in the autumn. However, Pidgeon said that they are being kept up to date.

The Dirty Duck began serving carvery in Week 4 but only started serving from the menu in Week 5. The food has been welcomed by the students, many of whom spoke well about it. There were a few complaints raised about the lack of good vegetarian options available but this has since been addressed.

Opinions on the venue itself vary but it has become a popular spot for students.

The delays may have soured the openings this Term and resulted in many students losing some confidence in their Union, but most students are glad to have a Union on campus and look forward to when the entire project is finally completed.