DGA’s Role: Construction Manager

Completion: 2019

 

This project included adapting space in an existing building built during the 1930’s. The new Gavett Hall AME Suite provides the students, educators, and researchers with a new Control Room, Live Studio, and four Mix Rooms that are of superior acoustic performance.

Renovations included acoustic isolation from the surrounding adjacent spaces both horizontally and vertically, which included installation of high STC-rated walls and an acoustically-isolated slab. Locating the program spaces on the third-floor required analysis of the existing structural floor system’s capacity against the requirements for acoustic floor construction. This analysis led to a creative beam-to-beam design for supporting the new acoustic construction. In addition to this, ADA-compliance was followed due to changing floor elevations associated with the acoustic slabs.

The biggest challenge for this project was working in a confined, occupied building. The rooms are located on the building’s third floor, and elevators were not available to the contractors. Despite the limited and constrained space, DGA successfully installed isolated floors, extra insulation, new acoustic paneling, whisper-quiet HVAC systems, new LED lighting, and multiple sound-absorbing and dampening features.