The five redecorated rooms aim to give the rooms and the center a more unique character.
On Thursday, the Good Life Center at Schwarzman held its grand re-opening, celebrating the redecoration and addition of five new student spaces.
The Good Life Center is Yale's student wellness center, offering yoga, meditation, workshops on sleep, stress management and more.
At the event, professor Laurie Santos, founder of The Good Life Center, Corinne Coia, the director of Student Well-Being, and Vanessa Blas, a Woodbridge Fellow, unveiled five newly decorated rooms, each with unique atmospheres and offerings: the Treehouse, the Music Room, the Game Room, the Sensory Room and the Balance Room.
"The Good Life Center is a physical space on campus that's meant to embody all the evidence-based principles we know for improving flourishing for students at Yale," Santos said. "They're spaces that have been built to try to incorporate science, and we're especially excited about this next set of spaces because they get to incorporate kind of new scientific principles that we weren't able to in our first four spaces."
Santos told the News that prior to renovations, the rooms were simple study spaces open to students, lacking "the kind of character" that Good Life spaces should have and promote.
She highlighted the amenities of the rooms, like low-to-the-ground chairs.
"I think students want a spot to study that doesn't feel industrial," said Santos. "They want it to feel homey and comfortable. I think they want a space that's beautiful."
The Sensory Room, another reservable meeting room that was made in collaboration with Yale's Student Accessibility Services, was designed to include various stimuli that help students engage with and develop their senses. Inside, sound-dampening tiles, weighted blankets and play objects help students take a break, refocus or come to a calmer space.
On the other hand, the Balance Room, which is geared towards productivity, was designed to fit whoever is using it. In this space, students can find adjustable working desks, adjustable chairs, exercise peddlers and multiple seating options to help tailor the space.
Coia explained at the re-opening that aesthetics played a large part in redesigning the once sparse spaces.
"You'll notice color is a big part of the atmosphere of the rooms," said Coia. "[In the Music Room] we have oranges, pinks, and greens -- things that can be lively. The Treehouse Room, which is a calmer space, utilizes greens and muted yellows."
Coia also noted that after the renovation, over fifteen additional seating options are available to students. Before, rooms were equipped with a single table and a few chairs. The goal was to create a space that could accommodate a group of ten.
Students can also reserve the rooms through QR codes posted outside each doorway at the center.
In developing the spaces, Santos and Coia noted that the center worked heavily with students to improve their comfort and experience and asked them what they believed was missing from their ideal study and relaxation space.
Ella King '28, who attended the event, told the News that she found the new rooms to greatly improve.
"I hang out at Good Life Center all the time, and it's like one of the only places that I study," said King. "It's really cool that you have a whole bunch of different offerings in different rooms and you can tailor what you need in the moment."
King noted that she especially enjoyed the different types of visual environments offered by the rooms, allowing her to pick the space that best suited what she was looking for.