After participating in a multi-phased selection process and design competition, GWWO was selected to design the expansion of the Daniel Z. Gibson Performing Arts Center at Washington College. The 70,000-SF project included renovations to portions of the existing building, selected demolition, and additions that transform the building. The complex features the 440-seat Decker Theater, a 175-seat Experimental Theater, and a 200-seat Recital Hall. 

Originally stoic and inward-looking, the existing building did little to reveal the performing arts to the campus and was a looming presence on the College’s main academic square. Inside, the Music and Drama Departments shared overcrowded facilities that were inadequate to fulfill their missions.

The expanded and renovated Performing Arts Center puts the arts “on stage” and engages the larger campus community in the arts. The transparent entry façade invites onlookers and encourages interaction, while the translucent recital hall serves as a visual beacon during evening performances. New exterior gathering areas and amphitheater-like steps enliven the square and offer a setting for impromptu practice and performances.

Inside, the new building houses state-of-the-art teaching and performance spaces, including classrooms, practice rooms, recital space, offices and theater support facilities. Like the melody in a musical composition or the plot of a play, an undulating Theme Wall organizes the key interior spaces and provides a method of harmoniously merging disparate program elements into a cohesive whole. The two departments each retain their own unique features, yet are united in their focus on the arts.