Burlap Sack: Tory becoming more inaccessible

I loathe nothing more than minor inconveniences. And the Henry Marshall Tory Building is a minor inconvenience in building-form.

Accessing the building is an inconvenience itself. And it’s only getting worse this year as Tory Atrium is closed for renovations. The University of Alberta loves to talk about its pedways and how great they are in the winter. Well, if you have a class in Tory or the Alberta School of Business, there’s no pedways for you. There was one that connected to HUB mall, which also connected to the Humanities Centre. But with the construction in Tory Atrium, even that single pedway is no more. At least for a while.

Tory’s exterior entrances aren’t super great either. You can enter it either from the sides or from the backside that faces Saskatchewan Drive. Part of the reason for that is that the Alberta School of Business is butted up against the south side of Tory. Once upon a time, you could simply walk through Business and the Tory Atrium to get into Tory with no problem. Now, the construction of the Tory Atrium means that is no more. I cannot wait to trudge through the snow in –30 degrees Celsius weather instead of just walking through a warm building.

While I’m happy that we might finally get some study and hang out places in Tory with the renovated atrium, I remember construction beginning last year at least. What have they been doing in there this whole time?

Once you manage to actually get inside Tory, it only gets worse. Walking around the inside is a lot like a dark, dingy labyrinth. You can go in circles without realizing it because it all looks the same. And the university must have built it with vampires in mind because there’s almost no natural light in the halls. I can feel the walls sucking the vitamin D out of me. I thought old buildings had character, like the old Arts Building does. Tory just looks like somewhere a scary man would chase you through in a nightmare.

Until the university finishes construction, which will probably take longer than expected as it usually does, I will dream of a more easily accessible Tory. And maybe a pedway that connects to more than just HUB.