Bates College Dana Hall Renovation

Role: Architect, Lead Designer

Overview

The Dana Hall Renovation at Bates College injects new life into an existing traditional New England campus building. The renovation provides advanced modern teaching and research laboratories to the center of campus, as well as refreshed student study lounge spaces and optimized interior circulation. The new circulation provides ample natural light to the center of the building and echoes the design motifs of the Bonney Science Center located across the Quad.

Teaching Spaces

All laboratories in Dana were redesigned to align with modern trends in research and teaching spaces. Fume hoods are located around the perimeter of the lab to allow for visual clarity from the benches to the instructor and white boards.

STEM Identity

The lab renovation, phased for construction after Bonney Science Center's completion, is designed to echo the design motifs of the new building. Materials, casework detailing, and color schemes are examples of how the STEM buildings on campus form a cohesive identity.

Circulation

The floor plan has been entirely reorganized to provide a central circulation core that is identical on each floor. Pockets of space in the circulation core are flooded with color to strengthen Dana's individual identity on campus.

Community

The first floor carves out space for a student study lounge and creates a place for community for thrive, as no such space existed in Dana prior to the renovation. A new window, in place of existing blast louvers, provides an aperture that looks onto the main boulevard and student center.