Hamilton College - Root Hall

Clinton, New York

Root Hall Rendered Site Plan

Root Hall invites students to engage in interdisciplinary thinking across the humanities, supports the exploration of pedagogical approaches, and allows the College to pilot innovative programs. A 2016 Utilization Assessment helped shape the program criteria for the historic Root Hall. The criteria included consolidating scattered humanities departments, introducing flexible collaboration space to support a growing program offering, and enhancing engagement between the primary east and west quads. The project restores a historic 1897 Carrère and Hastings building, reconceiving it as an open, permeable center, serving previously dispersed small humanities programs. The renovated building creates a home, as well as a place of invitation and connection at the core of campus. Previous renovations resulted in a dense layout of walled classrooms and offices oriented around a central stair, creating a building that was isolated from the outside and devoid of community spaces.

Despite its strategic location between prominent east and west quads, the building had a distinctly uninviting backside. The introduction of a new west entry allows seamless passage through the building from either quad, enhancing connectivity and establishing equitable accessibility that didn’t previously exist. The design energizes a 19th-century building with 21st-century performance through studied building envelope and systems improvement. The layout concept uses concentric rings of engagement, centering common spaces to facilitate encounter and interaction, and lining classroom spaces, faculty offices, and study rooms. The design rejuvenates the building through an emphasis on abundant daylight, visual connectivity, equitable access, and balance between the historic and new.

GeoThermal Systems

Earth Sensitive Solutions

Civil Engineer

Rist-Frost-Shumway Engineering

Landscape Architect

Stimson

Structural Engineer

Simpson Gumpertz & Heger

Construction Manager

Daniel O'Connell's Sons

MEP/FP Engineering

Rist-Frost-Shumway Engineering

Code Consultant

Hastings Consulting, Inc.

Lighting Designer

studioDSK + Rist-Frost-Shumway Engineering

AV Consultant

Rist-Frost-Shumway Engineering

Hardware Consultant

PH Hawley Associates

Specifications

Architx

Reviving the Humanities Core

Composition

Like many college campuses, the College developed through a series of expansions that included both new development and the acquisition of existing properties. Over time, space is utilized to address current needs, which often leads to underutilized facilities and inefficient distribution of programs. Through a series of individual projects, the College has sought to consolidate compatible programs, improve underutilized buildings, and support interdisciplinary interaction. The renovation of Root Hall was a second step in enhancing the physical environment of humanities programs. The project also revitalized a historic asset at the core of the Campus.