Anderson Hall Performing Arts Center

Photos

credits: Robert Benson Photography

Project Name

Anderson Hall Performing Arts Center

Brewster Academy was using a converted church building for choral performances, and an old gymnasium for theatrical performances. We were asked to reconfigure and add onto the existing church space to support an expanded music and performing arts curriculum, and provide a performance space with excellent acoustics and the tools for learning all aspects of performing arts from acting to set design, lighting, and sound.

The building is set on the edge of campus in a residential, village setting. The building was disconnected from the center of campus and could not be seen. The existing parking lot located on the south side of the building could not be touched without requiring a new stormwater system (budget limitation). Our master plan calls for the houses located between the site and the center of campus to be removed in the future to better connect the Performing Arts Center to the center of campus.

The inwardly looking church/auditorium building has been dramatically transformed into a highly visible gathering and performance space on the southeast corner of Brewster’s campus. The project included removing the existing entrance, lobby, church pew seating, and stage, and the addition of 4,370 SF of new space that houses the new lobby, set shop, classroom, elevator and stairs. The new entrance lobby is a tall, light-filled space surrounded by windows with views to the campus. The 332-seat theater includes a thrust stage with wide wing spaces, wing lofts, catwalks and fly space, set shop/back stage area with direct access to a loading dock, greenroom/rehearsal room, costume shop, and dressing rooms. The stage includes an acoustical shell that can fly out above the stage for storage, increasing the flexibility and use of the stage for a wide variety of arts performances.

White clapboards were retained on the main church building and addition, while the campus standard beige brick was used on the lobby addition to link the Arts Center to the academic buildings on the main quadrangle. The new entry lobby changes the orientation of the building so it faces the school’s academic quadrangle. The lobby serves as a central circulation and reception space and provides access to the different seating levels, stage, classroom/green room, concession area, bathrooms, and coatroom. The lobby becomes a beacon for activity, visible from the main campus approaches from the quadrangle. From the upper lobby there are dramatic views out to Lake Winnipesaukee.

Sustainable Design Elements: By wrapping the new additions around the existing, poorly insulated building, we were able to reduce the overall energy consumption/SF by 25%, even as we increased the size of the facility by 47%.

Project Size: 4,370 SF addition; 5,350 SF renovation; 20,000 SF site work

Project Cost: $2,200,000 including addition, renovations, sitework, seating, FF&E, and lighting.

Architecture or A/E Firm Name

Scott Simons Architects, LLC

Architect

Scott Simons, Austin Smith

Team

Ryan Kanteres, Matt Ahlberg, Kayla Casperonis, Linda Braley

Consultants

Northpoint Civil Engineering, Becker Structural Engineering, Allied Engineering MEP, Acentech Acoustical Engineers, Keith Lowell Specifications

Location

Wolfeboro, NH

Client

Brewster Academy

General Contractor

Milestone Engineering and Construction, Inc.