Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Geneva, NY

The Performing Arts Feasibility Study was prepared to further develop and test concepts that were initially presented as part of the comprehensive Campus Master Plan. The Study involves developing a space program, conceptual site and floor plans, and preliminary cost estimates for a new facility to serve the Dance, Music, and Theater programs on campus.

The program plan was developed in an open and participatory process that involved a series of discussions with a planning group that included faculty and senior leaders of the Colleges to review data and analysis developed in the context of the master planning study. The programming process also included site visits by the planning group to Performing Arts facilities at peer institutions.

After considering several scenarios for meeting the facility needs of the academic programs in the Performing Arts, the planning group outlined a single version for purposes of this study. In addition to the basic requirements for day-to-day teaching spaces, offices for faculty and staff, conference rooms, student gathering spaces, and listening and viewing libraries, it includes the creation of three primary performance spaces - two proscenium theaters and one black box. Together with other required building maintenance and support functions, the building area totals approximately 89,000 gross square feet.

The site identified in the campus plan for a new Performing Arts Center is the area of an existing parking lot and its immediate surrounds. The site plan locates the building along a major street to reinforce the street edge and enhance the arrival sequence to campus. The building location will also help to define a campus "town square" proposed at the intersection of a primary east-west pedestrian path and Pulteney Street.

An integral part of the site concept is the creation of a new green quadrangle on the eastern side of the Performing Arts Center. This space is linked to other outdoor spaces on campus and enhances the entry experience to the building from the drop-off and adjacent parking area.

The massing of the building is proposed as two-stories with sloped roofs. The roof line is articulated by separate gables over each primary performance space below. This contributes to the image of the building as a village of smaller buildings that are compatible in scale with existing buildings in the immediate context.

Completion: 2001
Size: N/A
Cost: N/A