Building 800
LARGE LECTURE HALL / SCREENING THEATER
Recommended Guidelines
Submitted by Diane Zuliani
Project Rationale:
Growth and efficiency are both central goals for Chabot. Instructors are helping to meet
these goals by accepting class sizes well above the current maximum enrollment cap of
44 students. For example, instructors are allowed by contract to teach large lecture
sections which could number anywhere from 50 to 145 students. The administration has
deemed these large lecture sections an acceptable means of increasing the college’s
efficiency by increasing WSCH-FTEF numbers. Thus it is imperative that the college
have classrooms with both the size and technological capabilities to accommodate large
class sections. With our largest classroom (building 600) currently slated for demolition,
the decision has been made to replace 600 with a large, raked, theater-style lecture hall in
building 800. There it will be used by faculty in the lecture-based and image-reliant
disciplines such as Art History, Humanities, Language Arts and others.
For a model of an effective and attractive large lecture hall of the type I believe we seek,
I strongly recommend that architects and planners visit ATC 12O (Advanced Technology
Center Room 120 – Screening Theater) on the De Anza campus (please see attached
photos or, if no photos are attached, please visit the following website which has them:
www.deanza.fhda.edu/animation/fac_atc120.html). I taught in this classroom for six
months and found it quite accommodating, and it is currently being used successfully by
faculty from a variety of disciplines. It is also used for public lectures when they include
A/V presentations. Because this classroom is designed to accommodate image-based
presentations to large audiences, it is also known as the “Screening Theater,” a name
which I believe we would do well to adopt for our building 800 classroom, as it more
effectively speaks to the unique character of the classroom than the currently used
language of “large lecture hall.”
The two templates below were created by Chabot’s Classroom Design Sub-Committee to
be used as guidelines for the planning and construction of new classrooms on our
campus. The first set of guidelines represent the committee’s list of basic requirements
for all new classrooms, the second set represents the committee’s requirements for large
lecture classrooms specifically. The planning and construction of the Screening Theater
in building 800 should follow these guidelines as closely as possible.
The Basic Classroom Template:




Air conditioning/heating/ventilation
Accessible, comfortable student seating made to accommodate adult
frames
Ample student desktop work surfaces measuring approximately 200 sq. in.
and accommodating both right- and left-handed students
Power ports for student computers and PDAs








Instructor “workstations” at front of classroom consisting of low-tech
items such as lectern, table, and chair, and high-tech items such as a
secure, technology-enabled teaching center containing an up-to-date
computer with cd-rom drive, laptop port, internet connectibility and sound
adequate for the size of the room . Workstation must provide easy control
over classroom lighting, computer use and projection
Remotely controlled tv/vcr/dvd in secure casework (tv must have closed
caption system)
LCD projector
Overhead projector, Elmo, or equivalent
Retractable or hidable screen(s)
30 linear feet of chalk/whiteboards
Variable lighting controlled both at door and near workstation
Bulletin board for posting notices and events
Screening Theater Template:
All above requirements plus:











Accommodation for combined-section lecture classes of up to 120
students
Raking floor plan
Fixed continental seating with foldaway tablet desktops
Extra-large retractable screen
30+ linear feet of whiteboard installed on facing wall
Easily controlled, highly variable incandescent lighting
Lockable projection booth at rear of room containing two slide projectors
and other projection equipment required by faculty users
Voice control and amplification system for speaker
Noise control and acoustical balance system
ALD—Assisted Listening Device (built in)
Aisles between rows of seats wide enough to accommodate adults
Submitted by Diane Zuliani