Fine Arts architect seeks input
Students and faculty met Wednesday with representatives from the firm hired to renovate and expand the Fine Arts Center to discuss how the space could best be utilized to meet needs.
More than 40 students attended the meeting with Sparano + Mooney Architecture, the firm, in Kent Concert Hall.
The areas discussed for renovation were the Kent Concert Hall, the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, the Tippets Gallery, the scene shop behind The Morgan Theater, The Performance Hall and the courtyard and plaza between the Kent Concert Hall and The Performance Hall. There will also be an administrative office addition.
Students shared ideas for the renovations, but frequently-discussed concerns centered on a need for more studio, rehearsal and practice space.
Others expressed a desire for an extra harp practice room, an organ studio and large practice rooms to cater to small student ensembles.
Anne Mooney, one of the architects, said the concerns are “definitely on their radar” and they would like to continue the discussion as they decide the details of the spaces.
Several students also shared concerns about locker space, saying most of the lockers aren’t big enough to fit certain instruments, costumes and supplies. One student said the locks are inadequate and many can be unlocked with the same key.
Some students were also concerned about the temperature of the lockers because many of the current lockers, located against outside walls, frequently change temperature and have damaged their instruments.
“This last winter when that new cold snap came, I had a nice, big, new crack on the bottom of my instrument,” one student said. “Take special consideration with new instrument storage space — especially for string instruments. They can be really fickle about temperature change.”
Another concern was that the Fine Arts Center is difficult to navigate. Students suggested changing the room numbers so they are easier to understand.
Students also asked for better professor offices, a more convenient location for the Box Office, more gallery space, natural light and outdoor seating.
At the end of the meeting Nicholas Morrison, the senior associate dean of the Caine College of the Arts, reminded the group that not everything could be accommodated because the college has a limited budget. However, he said the college will continue to include students in the decision-making process.
Mooney said there will be a second workshop for students after architects come up with the conceptual design. If they work fast, she said the firm could finish the programming phase by the end of April and have some conceptual design completed by Finals Week.
The entire project is expected to be done by late 2016 or early 2017.
“This is not a ten-year project,” Mooney said. “It’s something that you will see, especially if you are a freshman or sophomore.”
Kent Concert Hall construction will begin in the fall and last one year, Morrison said, so all shows will be held in other venues.
“Music department events will be held in the Morgan and theater department events will remain in the Lyric Theater downtown for one more year,” he said.
Morrison said the museum is scheduled to close for construction in spring 2016, but much of the schedule for the rest of the project is still undecided.
— melmo12@gmail.com