An impressive stairway of 77 steps leads to Southwestern College’s Christy Administration Building atop a prominent hill in Winfield, Kansas. Built in 1898, the iconic limestone edifice is three-stories high with a classical design of Doric columns and a red clay tile roof. The Richardson Performing Arts Center is located within this landmark building along with the President’s Office and administrative offices.
Historical Architecture
Renovation of Historic Richardson Performing Arts Center
Richardson Auditorium Renovation
Richardson Auditorium was last renovated in the 1950’s after a fire completely destroyed the interior. The performing arts hall is home to Southwestern College’s organ recitals, live theater, lectures and orchestral performances. However, it was showing its age and had critical acoustic problems that were only made worse when the plaster walls were painted.
In June 2008, WDM met with Dick Merriman, President of Southwestern College, Roger Moon, Director of Theater, and Tim Shook, Division Chair of Performing Arts, to move forward with the renovation and modernization of the auditorium. Project goals included better seating, acoustics, lighting, stage rigging and production space. Existing restrooms needed to be renovated and enlarged. Everything needed renovation to bring the venue up to ADA code requirements. WDM also consulted with Southwestern College’s maintenance lead Dennis Lowe and Lael Porter, Theater Technician.
WDM’s team of architects, interior designers, and acoustic engineer collaborated with the college to create a plan to restore the Richardson Auditorium to once again be an attractive and functional campus centerpiece.
Project Updates
WDM’s in-house architectural animator created beautiful renderings that were used for a successful fundraising campaign and moved the project into design and construction.
Tuning the Room: Amending the Acoustics
WDM’s team included an independent acoustic consultant to establish criteria for the acoustical performance of the hall and to then verify design calculations. Overly live acoustics were addressed with a series of sound reflectors suspended overhead and on the sidewalls. Reflectors successfully reduced the reverberation time for a more even distribution of direct and reflected sound. Additionally, eight motorized fabric panels can be raised or lowered over the convex sound reflectors at the sides of the hall to suit the acoustic needs of a given performance.
Southwestern College had their existing pipe organ removed during construction and renovated by experts. Meanwhile, WDM incorporated new pipe array grilles created from existing pipework on either side of the stage as part of addressing the hall’s acoustic performance.
The redesign of the auditorium includes a new mezzanine addition that houses camera and spotlighting booths, A/V recording rooms, and a sound control booth for the new sound system. Two new concealed overhead stage lighting arrays can be accessed from the mezzanine via new suspended catwalks. Behind the sound and light vestibules, is a much-needed storage space.
Measure of Success
Improving the acoustics was the main driving factor in the renovation and on their website, Southwestern College now boasts the auditorium has “excellent acoustics providing clarity for music and the spoken word.”
Download Case StudyProject Overview
Location:
Southwestern College, Winfield, Kansas
Area:
5,400 s.f.
Built:
1898
Renovated:
2011
Delivery:
Design/Bid/Build
Team Involved:
Architects: WDM Architects Structural Engineering: Dudley Williams and Assoc. Mech./Elec. Engineering: Basis Consulting Engineers General Contractor: Bauer & Son Construction
