"This is the very start of the construction project," said Sandy Howe '70, who led the meeting. "I had an unpleasant residential experience my first year here," added Howe, promising to be especially sensitive to the challenges of creating an enjoyable residential atmosphere. He lived in what he described as "a cell" in Morrow Dormitory.
The architects will spend the next 18 months in the design phase of the project. Four of those months will be spent in the conceptual stage, at the end of which the firm will choose one of three alternative plans. Along the way, the firm will consult with two committees and will periodically ask for input from the entire college community. The demolition and reconstruction of James and Stearns Halls is scheduled to begin in May 2003. The conversion of Pratt Museum into a freshman dorm is not scheduled to begin until 2006.
Shepley Bullfinch, founded in 1874, works entirely on college campuses. The firm did extensive work on the Harvard Quad, and has recently completed projects at Wheaton, Franklin and Marshall and the University of New Hampshire. "We pride ourselves on making new buildings fit well in what are often established and beloved spaces," said Howe. "The buildings should be aesthetic as well as functional. We're thinking about residential life now as well as in the future. We're planning for technology and trying to breed community," he added.
At this point in the project, there are no preconceived thoughts as to how the designs will proceed. However, there are tight constraints, including existing trees, buildings and the scale of the new buildings themselves.
After introducing the firm, Howe answered questions from students and posed some of his own.
Penelope Van Tuyl '03 asked about plans for common areas in the dorms. Howe described the project's program, which is an architectural term for a list of all the space in a building. "Right now, we have bedrooms, bathrooms and a variety of social space. We want denser buildings, with a central social space and rooms around it," said Howe. The architects described spaces ranging from living rooms and floor lounges to study nooks and dorm libraries. They are also considering ways to transform laundry rooms to social spaces by placing amenities in them. "The kitchen and fireplace areas in Newport become very social spaces," said Van Tuyl, suggesting kitchens should be added to the freshmen dorms.
"Microwaves in the common room would be nice," added James Johndrow '03. According to Dean of Students Ben Lieber, current designs plan for kitchens with convection microwaves, but not for stoves because of mechanical issues involved. In addition, the architects plan to add one social space large enough for parties, including TAP, to the quad.
One concern about having this type of social space in freshman residencies is that it may intimidate freshmen. This issue was raised by Van Tuyl at the meeting. Howe said the designs would try to separate this space acoustically and physically from the rooms. "We would probably construct the space in what is currently Pratt Geology Museum and have a separate entrance for the residential area," said Howe.
"We would like to have three or four spaces scattered around campus that are designed for the purpose of having parties," said Lieber. "The old frat houses, which are currently used for parties, were not designed for that purpose."
Howe asked the group if the social rooms could be used for practices and rehearsals during the day. "Possibly, but they would have to be thoroughly cleaned," said Johndrow.
Another issue raised was the importance of natural light. "Sensitivity to natural lighting will be one obsession," said Howe.
Lieber asked the group if any of aspects of James and Stearns would be worth preserving. Paul Reschke '04 mentioned the two stoops in front of Mead Art Museum as places where students liked to congregate.
Students at the meeting also presented their concerns about the current acoustics in James and Stearns. "The walls should block noise, and now it almost seems like it amplifies the noise," said Van Tuyl. Howe responded with comments regarding the trade-offs between durable concrete like that used currently and the acoustic effectiveness of double layer drywall. "You can put your fist through drywall if you really want to, but it does block noise," said Howe. "Since Amherst regularly maintains its buildings, though, using drywall may be a possibility."
Howe went into further detail about the three alternative plans for Pratt Museum. "Our first option is to turn Pratt into a T shaped building. Second is to knock it down completely. The third option, which I am partial to, would increase the distance between Seelye Mudd and the dorm addition," said Howe. The third plan calls for the replacement of the 1903 addition on the south side of Pratt Museum with a four story structure overlooking Seeley Mudd.
Plans for the new James and Stearns call for the maximization of the views of the mountains to the south and east. The architects are also looking to further incorporate the courtyard in front of Mead into the buildings' dorm life. The quad side of the dorms will have a traditional exterior, but Howe said he would like to try something more modern on the sides facing east and south in order to better exploit their natural views.
"We're planning to eliminate two-room triples and have a mix of one-room and two-room doubles," explained Howe. The original plans call for James and Stearns to both house 86 students and for the new dorm to house 117 students. But Howe said he would like to increase the number of beds in the replacement dorms to 92 and decrease the 117 beds to 105 in Pratt. This would allow Pratt to be constructed with greater emphasis on a community feeling.
"We want the halls to be very irregular. They may be as wide as five feet in some places, but they will have lots of pull-offs that would be used as social spaces," explained Howe. The new construction will probably include space for two Area Coordinators to live on the quad, probably as two-room apartments.