List Art Center Renovation

Transformative Renovation of 1960s Building Showcases Modern Learning Environments

Hamilton College has completed several construction projects on campus over the past few years, with the goal of repurposing, renovating, and preserving campus buildings. The List Art Center, located on the south campus and part of the original Kirkland College campus, was repurposed to create a new home for the Literature and Creative Writing department.

Since the opening of the Kennedy Center for Theatre and Studio Arts in 2014, the List Art Center remained mostly vacant. The existing building, constructed in 1969, is a 34,900-square-foot, two-story, reinforced concrete structure, with waffle slab floor construction. DOC served as construction manager to refresh and modernize the facility through the renovation of approximately 13,500 square feet. The scope of work included additions at building entrances, new skylights and window replacements, building envelope remediation, new sprinkler system, reroofing, asbestos abatement, interior demolition and renovations, including MEP upgrades and site improvements and landscaping.

The new interior creates an open, airy, bright building, restoring the original design intent, with a mix of shared and private spaces. Old studios were turned into classrooms and a small library and kitchen were added.

Project Highlights

• Virtual Design & Construction (VDC): DOC laser scanned the existing structure with our Leica BLK 360 scanner and Recap Pro. The VDC team used the data generated from this exercise to adjust the design Revit model to match actual conditions.
• Lean Construction Methods: Throughout the project, DOC implemented pull planning sessions with subcontractors to ensure compliance with the schedule milestones.
• DOC installed three panels of architectural precast concrete at the building’s front entrance. Despite challenging coordination conditions, our collaborative process ensured successful installation.