Google Translate, Typhoons, and Endless Ordeals: How ABH created study space out of thin air

St Andrews and study space can feel like Sisyphus and his rock: a never-ending struggle. The library is always full, and the monitors are always taken. The Agnes Blackadder Hall (ABH) committee saw this problem and found a strange way to fix it: individual study pods, shipped directly from a factory in China. Vlad Tronciu, a fifth-year student on the ABH committee, led the charge for what was a long, comedic endeavour.

The process started five months ago when Tronciu reached out to a manufacturer in China. The study pods were available in the UK. At £10,000 a piece, however, that didn’t seem like a viable option. The next best thing? Shipping the custom pods straight from the factories themselves. Tronciu searched around and found a factory that agreed to make the pods for ABH — on the condition that he handled the logistics of actually getting the pods to the UK.  

Tronciu reached out to the company directly and had to communicate in Chinese. “[I] would put it through Google Translate,” he explained. Going from English to Chinese and back to English, communicating through Google Translate was only the beginning of Tronciu’s difficulties.

“These [pods] were manufactured in five months. They had a few typhoons in the meantime, and one of the factories next door actually [had a fire],” Tronciu explained. He received photos along the way of welders putting together the frames for the pods. The pods were customised to fit the UK’s strict guidelines for enclosed spaces and electrical wiring. Everything seemed to be going well, despite a few mishaps along the way. 

On their way to St Andrews, the pods were shipped through Suez, Malta, Gibraltar, London, Slough, Birmingham, and then Kirkcaldy. Even in transit, Tronciu’s final goal remained precarious. The shippers sent him photos of the boxes on their way, through each stop, until he received one peculiar message: “The ship [...] has spotted Somali pirates. Oh, my god.” Worries ensued, but what the shippers had assumed to be pirates ended up simply being fishermen. Eventually, the pods landed, safe and sound in Scotland. 

Tronciu’s troubles continued, however, even once the pods touched down in the UK. Until the pods were standing in front of him, he still feared that “it was entirely possible [...] [the boxes] could have been full of bricks. It was entirely possible that it just wouldn't happen, that it was just some scam centre.” Transit issues followed these pods even twenty kilometres from ABH: “Monday morning, [there was a] traffic incident. Tuesday, the truck was too small. Wednesday, they finally shipped them.” 

Finally, a lorry pulled up outside ABH, and a forklift moved the boxes, which I got to see in their original packaging. One is fully assembled, though missing a few electrical components, and will hopefully be open for use by exam time. “We're getting them ready in terms of risk,” Tronciu explained. Risk assessments involve checking the wiring and managing all the minor details that go into even a small study space. 

The pods are small, perfect for a single student, ventilated, and completely soundproof. “You can literally sit inside and scream all you want,” Tronciu said, and no one outside will be able to hear a thing. Demand for the pods, which will work on a first-come, first-served basis, seems to be very high. The students are “completely excited,” Tronciu said. And they should be — finally, a solution to the ABH study problem that doesn’t involve an infestation of first-years in the post-grad Powell building right next door. 

The ABH committee saw a problem, heard the feedback, and created a solution. “Pretty much everything that we do we do through feedback [...] People tell us, ‘Hey, there's not enough study space. What do we do?’” Tronciu emphasised that the committee wants to help the students and make the halls the best they can possibly be. “The committee is there for a reason [...] we've always tried to serve the students as well as we can, so we engage actively with the students, through the events, through pretty much everything.” 

Reach out to your committees, contact the school. Change can happen. We don’t have to feel like there’s nowhere to go if you need to study and every single seat in the library is filled past 1pm. Even if the solution may involve Google Translate, typhoons, fires, and a few misidentified pirates, there are ways to make your voice heard and create the uni experience you want. 

Image courtesy of Jenny Chamberlain