Mount Holyoke College

Kendall Sports and Dance Complex

Mount Holyoke College 

PHOTOS © GREGG SHUPE 2013|SHUPESTUDIOS.COM,

When Kendall Hall was constructed in 1950 on the campus of Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, MA, it must have been a wonder. Finally, athletics and dance, two aspects of the college’s physical education program, would get dedicated space in close proximity to each other.

By 2008, when Moser Pilon Nelson Architects began early design work on what was then only an expanded fitness center project, increasing needs for both growing programs were competing for existing space within the building.

Practice facilities for dance have only a few specific requirements — an appropriate, comfortable surface; sensitive light and airhandling controls; and a relatively separate location to ensure a quiet environment. Windows can include a mix of transparent and translucent glass, for added privacy, and doors are made wide enough to allow the transport of larger objects (such as a piano). Dedicated storage space for costumes, cubbies for personal belongings, mirrors, ballet bars — it’s not that complicated.

A 4,750-square-foot addition was placed next to the dance performance space, comprising two dance studios separated from the theater by a corridor. As part of the expansion, a new entry plaza with a diagonally placed grand stair under an entry canopy was installed. A 30-foot vertical glass element provides a view into the dance center circulation at the juncture of the new dance wing to the existing complex.

Inside, the performance center got permanent, fixed seating, with the slope made steeper for enhanced sight lines and to accommodate a theater-arts classroom underneath. The design team specified a 12-by-80-foot skylight that runs the length of the performance space, outfitted with blackout shades that open and close with the push of a button.

The reorganization complete, the dance program has an end of the building that — during performances, at least — it can call its own.

This article originally appeared in the College Planning & Management August 2013 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • K12 Tutoring Earns Every Student Succeeds Act Level II Validation

    Personalized online tutoring service K12 Tutoring recently announced that it has received Level II validation underneath the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), according to a news release. The independently validated study provides evidence of K12 Tutoring’s role in creating positive student outcomes through effective academic intervention and research-based solutions.

  • Addressing the Housing Affordability Crisis Through Creative Campus Development

    Many Southern California college and university campuses are living amidst surging housing costs, driving the need to house more of their populations on campus. Especially for community colleges, the need to support millions of unhoused and housing insecure students has become a prominent issue that lawmakers and institutions alike are trying to solve.

  • PNSI Global Alliance Launches New Quality Assurance Certification

    PNSI Global Alliance, a network of technology integrators and service providers, recently introduced a new Quality Assurance Certification (QAC) for AV service and support, according to a press release. The two-day, interactive workshop QAC course is designed for Certified Solution Providers (CSPs) to provide them with the most up-to-date and advanced quality assurance knowledge available.

  • UT-Austin Breaks Ground on 17-Story Business School

    The University of Texas at Austin recently broke ground on a new, 17-story facility that will serve as the new home for the school’s McCombs School of Business, according to university news. The groundbreaking ceremony took place on April 10 for Mulva Hall, which will include amenities like classrooms, academic department suites, research centers, faculty offices, the dean’s office, and gathering spaces.

Digital Edition