Arts Block

The Arts Block is the sore thumb of campus. It is an unsightly, ugly feature on an otherwise discerning campus.
I really cannot stand the sight of it. I think it is such a dishonour that the building in which the largest contingency of students spend their time looks like an unprepossessing 1970’s Soviet Block.
It’s dreary exterior is extraordinarily uninviting, with a bewildering design that is riotously (I say ‘riotously’ because I find this fact literally impossible to believe owing to it preposterousness) based on the Hanging gardens of Babylon.
The Hanging Gardens of course proffer a stirring setting of natural wonder, whilst the Art’s Block emanates nothing more that counterfeit conjecture.
Once inside not much changes by way of offensive design as a lot of seminar rooms are windowless and resemble padded cells in an asylum.
Quite possibly the most apathetic place to study on campus, I can’t help but feel indignant that, considering the stirring teaching that goes on within such barren walls, not one aspect of the design in any way corresponds to the stirring academics that go on.

The Trinity Arts block is a hangout for all sorts, from the BESS and Arts students who attend lectures here to the office folk from nearby who pop in for a cheap sandwich and a cuppa to enjoy on the grass in the sun at the front. The ramp at the college entrance is a common meeting point and is often crowded, especially at lunchtime.
The lecture theatres here are the best I’ve been in on any college campus. They are modern and massive, with comfortable chairs and good acoustics. I’ve been witness to an eclectic array of performances on those stages, from serious and acclaimed history professors to hypnotists and comedians, most memorably Tommy Tiernan back in 2004.
From the first floor up, the Arts Block is a rather depressing place. Most of the building is dedicated to small seminar and tutorial rooms, and departmental offices. The corridors are dark and narrow, and most of the classrooms are windowless. However the huge carpeted boxes scattered around on each floor can be a nice place to have lunch and a quiet chat, or to read the paper in peace.