That is the way my lodge arranged it, in two parts. Apparently thats how the lodge has done it for quite some time. I made a habit of not questioning that sort of thing as an EA.
Really though I think that doing it in two parts is just more convenient. I'm on the fence about which is better - generally speaking as far as masonry goes I believe challenging is good and the high roads are best. Would having it in one piece actually stop people we want stopped? Would it actually help long term memory retention? Or, is it just more challenging and thats all?
I can't argue with challenging = good, and I dig the work, so like I say I'm on the fence. If I'd done it in one piece I have a feeling I'd probably strongly favor it being done that way though, as it is, I know I'm still keen on the esoteric work and it didn't hurt me any to do it in two so it becomes a bit of a wash.