Contract Magazine - January 2020 - 77

PHOTOGRAPHY: LARA SWIMMER

The clean lines and Quaker
character of the original
structure (far left) have
been maintained, resulting
in comfortable, bright
spaces that encourage
collaboration (left).

Haverford College, a small liberal arts college outside Philadelphia with 1,300
students on a 200-acre campus, enlisted Minneapolis-based MSR Design, which
boasts a portfolio of successful adaptive reuse projects, to conceive a place
for learning and exploration within a historic former gym.
Inspired by today's creative workplaces, Haverford College's new
Visual Culture, Arts, and Media (VCAM) Building delivers a flexible, collaborative
environment that is open around the clock and was intended to be utilized and
shared by the entire campus. VCAM houses the college's interdisciplinary minor
in visual studies, the Haverford Innovations Program, a maker arts space, and
the John B. Hurford '60 Center for the Arts and Humanities and its Philadelphia
Area Creative Collaboratives initiative.
Facing the historic Founders Green in the center of campus, the stone-clad,
Quaker-style former gym was built in 1900 but had been underutilized for decades.
MSR repurposed the 25,000-square-foot building to accommodate VCAM,
restoring its shell, cupola, and exposed roof truss system. A former swimming pool
was filled in, while a central two-story vaulted space with a suspended indoor
running track was maintained. Within this volume, MSR inserted a three-story,
5,130-square-foot box containing classrooms, labs, a screening room, offices,
and presentation spaces that encourage collaboration between the departments
of digital media, film, 3D fabrication, and material culture.
VCAM invites students and faculty from all over campus to gather in a variety
of welcoming spaces. The running track now serves as circulation along the upper
level, and also occasionally hosts film screenings and events. A campus family room
has a kitchen, a community table, a display area, a projection wall, and movable
furniture. The top floor of the inserted box provides another gathering place, where
daylight filters in through the building's original arched windows, lending itself
to the sense of openness and connection to the community.
The material palette is simple and straightforward in a nod to the building's
Quaker roots, extending an invitation to students to explore and create on this
blank canvas. MSR was mindful to reuse original elements from the building and
around campus to infuse the space with a sense of history. For example, wood from
the basketball court was used to create patterned ceilings and floors; old stairway
spindles were recycled into legs for a table in the new community kitchen; and gym
lockers were used to create the video-equipment checkout counter. Wood from
an old walnut tree that fell on campus was made into stair treads and tabletops,
and squash court glass panels were transformed into marker boards for students
to create spontaneous works of art.
"VCAM suits the Haverfordian spirit of educating the whole person,
of engaging all our sensibilities," says Laura McGrane, director of VCAM. "Such
sensibility is expressed in the very architectural makeup of VCAM-designed
along the principles of 'bodies in motion' and visual play, and we encourage
you to explore today with all the curiosity and excitement that we ourselves
feel about this extraordinary addition to the college's ever-evolving
educational environment."

"As a nexus of making and learning, VCAM will play a dynamic role in our
curricular and cocurricular experience for many generations to come," says Kimberly
Benston, a former president of Haverford.
MSR's design holds on to pieces of the past while creating spaces that are
entirely new and encourage experimentation and innovation. The resulting building
is warm, open, and inviting-24/7. - MURRYE BERNARD

P RO J E C T C R E DI TS

Architect and interior designer MSR
Design
MSR Design project team Traci Engel
Lesneski, CID, IIDA, LEED AP, Assoc.
AIA, principal in charge; Thomas Meyer,
FAIA, principal design adviser; Dagmara
Larsen, AIA, LEED AP, project manager/
project designer; Bob Ganser, AIA,
project architect; Veronica McCracken,
CID, IIDA, project interior designer; Ligeia
Cholensky, signage designer; Patrick
Lynch, RA, LEED AP; Martin Meyer;
Benjamen Schwarz; Daniel Vercruysse,
AIA, LEED AP
Contractor Whiting-Turner
Lighting Gallina Design, LLC
MEP Bruce E. Brooks & Associates
Structural engineer Keast & Hood Co.
Civil engineer Nave Newell Inc.
Graphics MSR Design
Acoustician Threshold Acoustics, LLC
Historic preservation Keystone
Preservation Group Inc.
Code and fire protection LaSalle
Engineering, LLC
Specifications writer WC Consulting Inc.
S E L E C T E D S OU RC E S

Wallcoverings Wolf-Gordon
Laminate Formica
Floor and wall tile Appiani, Ann Sacks
Rug GAN
Window treatments Wolf-Gordon
Handrail wrap Architex
contract

Paint Scuffmaster
Resilient flooring Mondo
Carpet/carpet tile Interface, DESSO
Lighting controls Acuity Controls
Floor/table lamps Pablo, Santa & Cole
Pendants/chandeliers Incipit Lab
Decorative bollards Hess
Doors/hardware Stanley Security
Solutions, Norton, Rixson, Von Duprin,
Best, Rockwood, Assa Abloy, Pemko,
Curries, VT Industries
Architectural glass/glazing PPG
Industries, Luxar, McGrory, Trulite,
Oldcastle
Window frames Iconic Windows, Curries,
Assa Abloy, Allied Window
Workstation/task seating Herman
Miller, Haworth, Andreu World
Conference seating Sedia Systems
Lounge/reception seating Allermuir,
Andreu World, Davis, Stylex, Kettal
Cafeteria/dining seating Leland,
Muuto
Auditorium seating Sedia Systems
Other seating Andreu World, Emeco,
Tolix, Vitra, Rypen, Paul Brayton, Stylex,
Kettal
Tables Allermuir, Knoll, Rypen, Artless
Storage systems Alias
Architectural/custom woodworking
Stofanak Custom Cabinetry
Signage (fabricator) OSS Kroy
Plumbing fixtures/fittings WS Bath
Collections, American Standard, Moen,
Elkay
Contract Magazine - January 2020

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