Under Construction: Hamilton College Theatre and Studio Arts Building

The Theatre and Studio Arts building, under construction, and the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum, completed in 2012, are two new projects at Hamilton College designed by Machado and Silvetti Associates. In 2010 we completed a limited Master Plan for Hamilton College that included these two buildings as part of an Arts Quad surrounding a reconstructed pond. The Quad provides a strong physical center for the arts culture at Hamilton College while enhancing connections between two previously separated sides of campus.

The Theatre and Studio Arts building will bring together theatre performance and teaching space with a wide range of studio arts program areas that are currently distributed across the College. Within the building, the studio arts program spaces are organized into neighborhoods and arrayed along an arcing glass wall that offers expansive views across the Arts Quad. Painting, drawing and printmaking studio spaces are located on the second floor where they have ample access to natural daylight. Sculpture studios and supporting workshops are located on the lower level to accommodate large tools and facilitate the movement of heavy materials.  Multimedia and digital production, editing studios and photographic darkrooms are located deep in the building, away from the light, dust and noise of the production workshops.

The Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum celebrates the College's unique collection and teaching pedagogy. The Director envisioned a hands-on "cabinet of curiosities" that would challenge students from a range of disciplines to search for new meaning through the juxtaposition of disparate objects.  We designed a museum that brings visitors directly from campus paths and outdoor sculpture areas through a monumental two-story glass archive hall that showcases the College's unique collections.  To see the completed Wellin Museum please visit our website. LINK