Emma Willard School
Alice Dodge Wallace ’38 Center for the Performing Arts
Troy, NY
Listed on the Registry of Historic Places, the Mount Ida campus of Emma Willard School in Troy, NY, was designed by the Olmsted Brothers and features several historic buildings. Among them is the 1910 Alumnae Chapel, now repurposed as the Alice Dodge Wallace ’38 Center for the Performing Arts. The project includes a below-grade addition and a connection to the Snell-Dietel-Maguire Studio Arts Complex, centrally located on the 147-acre campus. Historic features such as leaded-glass windows and wood trusses were preserved to maintain the chapel’s character.
The completed arts center includes a 485-person theater with main floor and balcony seating, a 70-piece orchestra rehearsal room, a 100-seat studio theater with retractable seating, and two dance studios with sprung floors. A motorized, extendable stage, along with improved acoustics and lighting, enhances the facility’s flexibility and performance capabilities.
Kohler Ronan designed all-electric building systems aligned with the school’s sustainability goals and historical context. A central air-source heat pump supplies hot and chilled water to distributed air-handling units with energy recovery systems to reduce ventilation loads. Underfloor air distribution in the main auditorium delivers air conditioning with minimal visual impact on the historic interior.
Architect: Annum Architects
Photography: © Chuck Choi Architectural Photography
