Schupf Downtown Arts Center
ABOUT
Client Colby College
Owner’s Representative Paul Ureneck
Typology Institutional
Location Waterville, ME
Year 2023
Design Team Susan T. Rodriguez Architecture Design, Timothy Lock, Alex Rosenthal, Erinn Simmons, Shamika Khare, Alexandra Pagán, Michael Bailey,
Contractor Landry / French
Consultants Structural Engineer: Thornton Tomasetti, Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection Engineer: FP Altieri, Civil Engineer: Sebago Technics, Cost Estimator: PCM Company, Lighting Consultant: Brandston Partnership Inc., AV, IT, Security, Acoustics, Theaters Engineering & Consulting: Harvey Marshall Berling Associates, Signage: H Plus
EUI 30.6 kBTU/SF/yr
Featured In
The Architect’s Newspaper
The Paul J. Schupf Art Center is a new beacon for the arts in downtown Waterville, Maine. The project is part of an initiative led by Colby College and Waterville Creates! to reinvest in the city’s downtown and forge stronger connections with the nearby campus. Located at a unique civic intersection, the Center transforms a historic site to activate a community crossroads at Main Street and Castonguay Square. The building’s design, a collaboration with Susan T. Rodriguez Architecture Design, reveals the diversity and vitality of the spaces within, celebrating its important role in the community. Weaving together old and new, the project hosts local arts organizations in film, drama, music, dance, and the fine arts.
In addition to the new galleries, a classroom, pottery studio, rehearsal space, three screening rooms, box office and cafe, the Center creates a new threshold and lobby for the 800-seat historic Waterville Opera House situated at the upper level of the adjacent City Hall building. The design links the existing Opera House to the shared, flexible public space within the new building, which centers around a new south-facing, double height atrium overlooking the city green. Conceptually extending the street and the Square into the public space of the building, the atrium features a new two-story volume for the Colby College Museum of Art Gallery and a rehearsal space.
The use of industrial materials throughout—concrete, steel, corrugated metal, cabling and brick—draws inspiration from Waterville’s historic heritage as a mill town. Building upon the foundations of the original building, the project follows Passive House design standards with a focus on creating a high-performance envelope and reduction in operational costs.
