Renovation at Massachusetts School Includes BILCO Smoke Vents

The theater plays an important role in the panorama of the Middlesex School. Based just outside of Boston, the theater – officially called the Bass Pavilion for the Arts and Danoff Visual Arts Center – is the one area where students and staff can safely assemble. The school also has anextraordinary commitment to its students studying the arts.

The school embarked on a plan in 2017 to renovate the facility, which had been built in the 1960s. The scope was ambitious on the 55,000 square foot renovation. The team from CBT Architects was tasked with maintaining the existing footprint and preserving the theater’s original perimeter walls, while adding additional seating capacity and adding a lengthy list of new features desired by the school. Architects also had to keep improvements in line with the century-old architectural integrity of the school and its 21st-century mission. 

The centerpiece to the project is the main stage, which includes balcony seating that allows the 500 student and faculty members to fit comfortably as an audience for assemblies. The theater includes a motorized orchestra pit that can be raised up to the stage level. 

There is also a 180-seat black box theatre for rehearsals, theatre classes and smaller performances. Behind the scenes are resources for casts and stage crews, including dressing rooms and space for hair and makeup.

While the renovated theatre anchored the project, the school also created a unique visual arts center where students will find dedicated spaces for ceramics, digital photography, digital media and studios for drawing and painting. There is also a gallery with work from professional artists and Middlesex students.The upper floor of the visual arts center includes two art history rooms and a multi-purpose space that overlooks the campus and a mindfulness studio that looks out upon a pond.

^{The renovation included the construction of a new visual arts wing that integrates a rich cross-section of artistic disciplines with a gallery, studio and classroom spaces. The theater now can seat nearly 500 people, and has enough capacity to allow the entire school to congregate. Photo by Sarah Hamlin/Everchangingphoto}

Acoustically sound rated smoke vents manufactured by The BILCO Company were included in the renovation. Smoke vents promote safe emergency egress for building occupants and assist firefighters in bringing a fire under control by removing smoke, heat and gases from a burning building.  Acoustical smoke vents are frequently used in concert halls, theaters and other venues to guard against outside noise intrusion such as aircraft or traffic noises. Motorized smoke vents were specified for this project to allow for remote operation and natural building ventilation.

“The features that were included in the smoke vents were geared to student safety,” said Michelle Oishi, lead architect for CBT. “That was of paramount importance. There were also space considerations, and the automated aspect was important. We wanted very few things interfering with the rigging sets.”
    
The final project delivered precisely what the school envisioned. “We designed these buildings to provide our students with great, well-lit space and now the facilities’ features reflect the sophistication and excellence of the work that’s being done there,” said Kathy Giles, the former Head of School at Middlesex.

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