Students accustomed to acid-stained tables, discolored floors and cramped, low ceilings in Thompson Complex North Wing entered strikingly different surroundings when Snell Hall opened for classes Monday.

“It’s like night and day,” Nashville junior Christy Beyke said, comparing the two buildings. “You can just tell [Thompson] is old. You go into the new labs, and you’re like ‘Wow, it’s so pretty in here.’”

Large windows and high ceilings add to the aesthetic value of the $24 million, five-story building, which houses classrooms, lecture rooms and instructional, research and computer labs for chemistry, biology and computer science departments, said Ben Johnson, assistant director of Planning, Design and Construction.

Snell’s instructional labs offer improvements when compared to those in Thompson Complex, said Blaine Ferrell, dean of Ogden College of Science and Engineering.

Thompson Complex was originally meant to be a lecture hall, so the ceilings were too low to install fume hoods in the labs, he said. But Snell has spacious lab areas complete with stainless steel sinks and new ventilation systems.

For students who work up appetites in the labs, Snell houses DaVinci’s, a cafe open for breakfast and lunch.

Aramark, who provides Western’s dining services, developed the concept for the one-of-a-kind restaurant after faculty, staff and students requested a place to eat at the top of the Hill, Johnson said.

DaVinci’s offers an array of wraps, sandwiches, salads, flatbread pizzas, pastries and more.

Beyke, a chemistry and biology double major, said she can fuel up at DaVinci’s, so she might have a hard time finding a reason to leave Snell’s new facilities.

“I can live on this side of the Hill,” she said.

Ferrell said Snell will provide an improved learning environment for students like Beyke who are already making a home there and will attract prospective students, too.

“Every parent wants their children to go to an updated facility with state-of-the-art equipment,” he said.

Ferrell said he’s noticed enrollment increases at universities after classes begin at new facilities.

Ogden will boast more updated buildings in coming years. Renovations of the Science and Technology Hall are expected to be completed by 2010 and renovation projects are in the works for Thompson Complex Central and North wings, Ferrell said.

But, for now, Ferrell said the best thing about Snell opening is simple.

“It’s just nice having good facilities,” he said.