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

  • classroom with crystal ball on top of a desk

    Call for Opinions: Spaces4Learning 2026 Predictions for Educational Facilities

    As 2025 winds to a close, the Spaces4Learning staff is asking its readers—school administrators, architects, engineers, facilities managers, builders, superintendents, designers, vendors, and more—to send us their predictions for educational facilities in 2026.

  • Preparing for the Next Era of Healthcare Education, Innovation

    Across the country, public universities and community colleges are accelerating investments in healthcare education facilities as part of a broader strategy to address workforce shortages, modernize outdated infrastructure, and expand clinical training capacity. These projects, which are often located at the center of campus health and science districts, are no longer limited to traditional classrooms.

  • Geometric abstract school illustration

    How Design Shapes Learning and Success

    Can the color of a wall, the curve of a chair, or the hum of fluorescent lights really affect how a student learns? More schools are beginning to think so.

  • Los Angeles City College Breaks Ground on New Administration, Workforce Building

    Los Angeles City College (LACC) in Los Angeles, Calif., recently broke ground on a new $72-million administrative facility, according to a news release. The Cesar Chavez Administration and Workforce Building will stand four stories, cover 67,230 square feet, and play home to a wide variety of the school’s educational and administrative services.

Digital Edition