Emma Willard School, Alice Dodge Wallace ’38 Center for the Performing Arts
Troy, NY
K-12 education
Sent by: Consigli Construction Co.
Region: ENR Est
Owner/Developer: Emma Willard School
Main design company: Annum Architects in collaboration with Ann Beha
Construction Manager: Consigli Construction Co.
Structural Engineer: Silman Structural Solutions
Civil Engineer: CT Male
MEP Engineer: Kohler Ronan LLC
Theater Design: Next Stage
Consultant in acoustics/technology/vibrations: Acentech
Transforming the more than 100-year-old stone chapel of the Emma Willard School in Troy, NY, into a modern arts venue proved to be, in itself, an endeavor where not a single misstep could be tolerated.
As in a ballet performance, the project team led by Consigli Construction practiced deep collaboration and trust to successfully navigate complex and sometimes unique structural, acoustic and sequencing issues as they transformed the structure to support modern performance infrastructure.
The conversion “basically required us to remove the first floor of the building and open up the lower level, which included a pool and a bowling alley,” said Scott Kosnick, the school’s director of facilities construction management and planning, in a project video.
Kosnick said the building’s first floor and lower level “didn’t necessarily line up correctly” and credited Consigli with the solution that “basically allowed us” to move forward with the project.
Photo by Chuck Choi, courtesy of Consigli Construction Co.
“This building struggled while we were trying to build it, so keeping the exterior of the building intact while we demonstrated the entire interior was just a huge challenge,” noted Greg Mollnow, Consigli’s project superintendent.
Removing an entire floor and excavating the foundation to improve acoustics and accommodate raked seating destabilized the structure, requiring new framing at roof level, even though a critical structural column supporting much of the roof had to remain within 1/16 inch of its original position. Engineers developed a support and shoring system of micropiles to stabilize the structure.
The chapel also received a new slate roof, copper gutters and full brickwork.
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In addition, a low-level arts wing housing studios, rehearsal rooms and a black-box theater harnesses the thermal mass of the floor to stabilize interior temperatures and reduce operational energy use.
Kosnick praised the project team for “some of the best communications I’ve had with a contractor in my 20-plus years of experience.”
