Physics Hall lecture rooms 3 and 5 will be receiving a face lift after nearly 80 years of use.

The Iowa Board of Regents has allocated funds to remodel Physics Hall, said Eli Rosenberg, chairman of physics and astronomy.

Design compromises needed to be made because of the way the hall was built and the limited amount of funding.

“The building was built in the 1920s — the space is quite old,” Rosenberg said.

There is also a desire for the lecture halls to have more moveable seating so students can get into discussion groups, Rosenberg said. This will be possible in Room 3, but not Room 5.

Maintaining seating capacity is also a concern when designing the new lecture halls, Rosenberg said. The preparation area between the rooms, now Room 4, will be eliminated in order to expand the new lecture halls. The seat capacity should only decrease by seven seats.

The design includes plans for more updated presentation equipment and a more modern look for the rooms, as well as more leg room for students, Rosenberg said.

Jenny Rixen, senior in health and human performance, has attended classes in the lecture halls and said the chairs in the rooms, which are wooden and have 90-degree angle seat backs, “need some improvement.”

Other students see the wooden seating as a piece of history and originality within the classroom.

Aaron Bullington, senior in biology, said the seats are very uncomfortable, but the chairs carry some history with them.

“They’re the original seats,” Bullington said. “But I think they need to be replaced — they hurt.”

The lecture halls are used each day from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. by physics, astronomy and non-physics classes, Rosenberg said. The architectural design is completed, and construction is projected to start in summer 2004.