Devin Maurizio

Building Statistics

General Building Data:

Building Name: Williams College ’62 Center For Theater & Dance
Location: Williams College, Williamstown, MA
Building Occupant: Department of Theater & Dance, Williams College

Type of Building: Theatrical Performance Space, Offices, and Dance Studios
Size: 126,000 sq. ft.
Stories: 5 (above ground), 6 (including basement)

Project Team:

Owner
Williams College
http://www.williams.edu/go/62center/

Architect
William Rawn Associates
http://www.rawnarch.com/

Construction Manager
Barr & Barr, Inc.
http://www.barrandbarr.com/

Structural Engineer
LeMessurier Consultants
http://www.lemessurier.com/

Civil Engineer
Guntlow & Associates
http://www.guntlowassociates.com/

MEP Engineer
TMP Consulting Engineers
http://www.tmpeng.com/

Lighting Consultant
Horton Lees Brogden
http://www.hlblighting.com/

Landscape Architect
The Halvorson Company, Inc.
http://www.halvorsondesign.com/

Theatre Consultant
Theatre Projects Consultants, Inc.
http://www.tpcworld.com/index.asp

Acoustical Consultant
Acoustic Dimensions
http://www.acousticdimensions.com/

Williams College Project Manager
Bruce J. Decoteau, Buildings & Grounds

Construction Dates: April 2003 – June 2005
Cost Information: Total Project Cost = $54.5 Million
Project Delivery: Design-Bid-Build

Architecture:

Design & Function:

• The MainStage Lobby, a glass cube with strong overhanging roof and dense wood shutters, brings a strength of form, warmth of materials, and warmth of natural light to the face of the building on Main Street. If offers an architectural counterpoint to the semi-circular stone walls and the 80' tall fly tower of the MainStage.
• The publicly accessible passageway from front-of-house to back-of-house is marked by a strong change in character and materials. Beginning with the glass and warm wood of the front lobby, the passage evolves into the glass, metal and steel industrial aesthetic of the CenterStage and its lobby. That aesthetic is continued in the monumental stair that moves one up to the major dance space and in the gradual ramp that moves one down to the rear entrance.
• The interior for the building is everywhere infused with daylight, either through large glass walls modulated by wood shutters in the front Lobby or by skylights creating ever changing patterns of light along circulation routes. Extraordinary views of the campus and surrounding Berkshire Hills are found throughout, particularly from the Lobby and the large Dance Studio.

National Codes Used:

• Massachusetts Energy Code - Chapter 13, Sec.1307 & Sec.1308
• NEC 2005

Zoning Requirements: Zoning requirements are defined by the Williams College master planning committee and is exempt from the Williamstown zoning ordinances.

Building Envelope: Structural CMU block walls with decorative façades.  Limestone veneer on the majority of the building, brick on the fly tower and the northwest corner under the dance studio, and glass and aluminum curtain walls at the main theatre lobby and circulation corridor.  Though the changes in roof heights are quite dynamic around various parts of the building, they are all flat.

System Descriptions:

• Construction: The Williams College ’62 Center for Theatre & Dance was a design-bid-build project that topped out at $54.5 million dollars and took just over 2 years to build.  It’s 5 stories above grade in most locations and has a basement.  The building is built on a sloped site and requires a grand staircase along the length of the center of the building to maintain appropriate flow through it.
• Electrical: The electrical distribution system for the Williams College ’62 Center for Theatre & Dance is a radial system powered by two 1500 kva transformers provided by the college.  Emergency lighting panels are housed in separate emergency electrical rooms and are backed up by a 100kw diesel emergency generator.  Automatic transfer switches control the power transfer in the event of a power loss.  Both 480/277v and 208Y/120v systems run throughout the building.  Most large mechanical equipment have been provided fused disconnect switches for easy maintenance and flexibility.  Lighting control panels have been linked to relay panels for integration into the building automation system.
• Lighting: The lighting system consists of halogen/incandescent lamps in theatrical and lobby spaces, as well as fluorescent strip and compact fluorescent lighting for other general areas.  There is site lighting enough for egress requirements along the walkways to the building, but façade lighting only exists by the deep orange and yellow glow of the main theatre entrance lobby.
• Mechanical: The building utilizes a hybrid constant volume and variable air volume forced air system for the majority of space conditioning needs.  A 35 ton air cooled liquid chiller services the buildings chilled water needs.  An incoming steam line from the campus steam distribution system provides the means for hot water.  The main theatre lobby on the south end of the building has a hydronic radiant floor that dissipates heat through its slate surface.  The corridor are just inside the lobby is heated by a finned-tube radiant heating curtain wall.
• Structural: The structural system consists of composite steel beams and girders for the floor framing system, topped with concrete slabs on metal decking. The walls throughout the building are braced, lateral resisting frames and the building is supported by conventional concrete spread footings.
• Fire Protection: The Center for Theatre & Dance utilizes two levels of fire protection.  The first is a wet system with sprinkler heads throughout the building.  In theatrical spaces where efforts were taken to preserve the beauty of the space, concealed sprinkler heads were used.  The second system is a fire department hookup which is controlled by three separate automatic control valves in the main mechanical room in the basement of the west side of the building.  The fire department inlet is located by the north entrance to the building.     Ceiling mounted smoke detectors are located throughout the building.
• Transportation: The building is serviced by multiple hydraulic elevators and pit lifts used for moving scenery, chair racks, and equipment throughout the theatrical service areas of the building. Pedestrian elevators exist at the MainStage lobby near the directing studio on the ground floor for easy access to handicapped individuals.
• Telecommunications: Ethernet/Phone/AV: All Data/Voice/Coax conduits in the building are fed from room 052, Tel/Data, located in the basement of the 550 seat main theatre.  Two data racks house the input/output data streams and are backed up by a UPS.  Data and voice inputs are primarily located in offices and the theatrical control room in the 550 seat main theatre.  Other inputs are placed at intervals throughout the rest of the building for a flexible data communication system.  Most lines are run through conduit and cable trays that run throughout the circulation spaces in the building.