Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Middlesex Community College: Richard and Nancy Donahue Family Academic Arts Center

  • 04/01/19
middlesex community college

PHOTOS © ROBERT BENSON PHOTOGRAPHY

The design by Leers Weinzapfel Associates of this new academic arts center reimagines the historic Boston & Maine Railroad Depot at Towers Corner within the Lowell National Historical Park in Massachusetts. Located in an urban core, the building’s 1876 exterior was preserved, while the interior was completely reconstructed, nearly doubling space for the college’s growing performing arts departments of music, theater, and dance.

The project comprises three major teaching spaces; a new proscenium theater classroom, a music recital hall, and a dance studio black box theater, each delivering a professional-level technological environment with the intimate scale appropriate for student performance. The largest of these spaces, a central oval structural volume, supports the building’s 240-year-old walls and houses a unique 177-seat “egg theater.” The theater steps down from the ground floor lobby to a basement level, affording excellent sight lines and fully accessible space for students, performers, and patrons.

At the second floor, the recital hall and dance studio take advantage of the building’s high roof, exposed timber trusses, and borrowed light through a west-facing gallery passageway. Along the sidewalk, a linear gallery and theater lobby display student activity and invite the public in through a main entry at the base of the Center’s landmark clock tower.

An addition at the rear of the building, constructed in a 20-foot zone purchased by the owner, comprises mechanical and building support space that provides sound separation for the performance venues. Excavation created space for a full basement that was required for accessibility.

Building reuse not only achieves the goals of historic preservation for the Center, it also contributes to its sustainability. The depot’s elegant façade was carefully repointed and supported from behind by the reinforced foundation and by the sturdy egg-shaped theater volume. Highly insulated walls and efficient systems contribute to the building’s energy efficiency.

This article originally appeared in the College Planning & Management April/May 2019 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • From Approval to Opening: Inside Travis Unified School District’s Fast Tracked Campus Expansion

    The Travis Unified School District (TUSD) in northern California includes several elementary and high schools serving over 5,400 students. In 2024, the TUSD Board approved the addition of sixth grade to the Golden West Middle School campus for the 2025–26 school year, setting in motion an accelerated effort to bring new facilities online in less than a year.

  • Wisconsin District Breaks Ground on New Elementary School

    The School District of La Crosse in La Crosse, Wis., recently broke ground on a new elementary school that will consolidate the students and staff of two existing schools, according to local news. Funding for the school comes from a $53-million referendum approved in 2024.

  • USC Launches Major AI Initiative After $200M Gift

    The University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Calif., recently announced that it has launched a “transformational” new AI initiative thanks to a $200M gift, according to a news release. The project will leverage AI toward breakthroughs and innovations in subjects like the health sciences, business, security, and the arts.

  • DFW-Area District Opens New Replacement Middle School

    The Eagle Mountain-Saginaw Independent School District near Fort Worth, Texas, recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new replacement middle school campus, according to a news release. The new facility for Wayside Middle School, originally established in 1964, was built on the site of the former district administration building and funded through Bond Proposition A in 2023.