Construction Gives Way to the Sound of Music
Music has replaced the sounds of construction at the historic Art Center, which has been transformed into Westmont’s new music building. The center, which housed Reynolds Gallery, is the new hub for Westmont’s burgeoning music department. The art department moved to Adams Center for the Visual Arts last fall, freeing up the two-story structure to provide office and practice space for the music department’s five full-time professors and 26 adjunct instructors. Various gifts to the college funded the project as part of the Bright Hope for Tomorrow campaign.
Randy Jones, director of campus planning, coordinated the restoration of the historic exterior while bringing the structure up to current code. Integrating the acoustic requirements in an existing structure proved challenging. Jones says new interior walls constructed within the existing walls were framed with steel studs and filled with insulation. Steel channels connected to the studs hold isolation brackets, which have two layers of sheetrock attached to them. “This allows the walls to literally vibrate to absorb sound,” Jones says.
The acoustic requirements raised the second floor several inches higher by installing isolation brackets to hold wood supports and a plywood surface that’s topped with acoustic Marmoleum or carpet. “On the lower floor, we poured lightweight concrete to create an acoustic buffer,” Jones says. “On the walls and ceilings, acoustic panels absorb and deflect sound to enhance the experience of practicing.”
The new music building features eight office studios, 12 practice rooms, a recording studio, a composition lab and a reception area.
The Art Center opened in January 1986 after architects restored the historic Deane School building to preserve its original exterior appearance. The former junior dormitory is one of several buildings on the lower part of campus that originally belonged to the Deane School for Boys, which operated from 1912 to 1933.
Modernizing the unique structure, a Santa Barbara County historic landmark, proved to be an exciting challenge for Jones and his crew. “The old building gave the project team new puzzles to work through and solve each day,” Jones says.
Here are more photos of construction at the new music building.