year                        2011

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Social Science Building second floor renovation project involved creating:

- 30 seat classroom

- 60 seat theatre with full surround sound technology

- projection room for 16mm and 35mm film

- open offices for seasonal instructors

 

The existing late 1960's building, which was constructed with concrete waffle slab technology, provided a floor to floor height of 4.27 m [14’-0”]. This generous space allowed ample head room for the proposed theatre which utilized a tiered floor system. Both mechanical ventilation and electrical plugs were integrated into the flooring to give students both environmental comfort and the capability to connect their electronic devices necessary for studies. Special care was taken to acoustically isolate the theatre and classroom so as not to disrupt other classes and working faculty. With the guidance of a sound consultant an STC rating of 55 was set as the standard.

 

The renovation is integrated into an area which coexists with faculty offices. A planning exercise resulted in a design which split the floor plate into a student (public) zone and a faculty zone. Operable glass doors, between the zones, give the faculty members sound separation from the student area.

 

The lobby area provided an opportunity to introduce a large scale graphic reflecting the unique 35mm projectors the university owns. Reflective glass beads would be mixed into a the spray paint for this stencil graphic. Similar to the paint used to create the reflective lines on roadways the graphic would shine under the right lighting conditions.

 

LEVEL 2 PLAN: