As new technologies emerge and advance, schools and universities across the United States are looking to modernize their educational facilities to support things like e-learning as a way to provide world- class experiences for students. By upgrading facilities with the latest technologies, universities are better equipped to provide educational opportunities for their current and prospective students. A recent example of this took place at the University of Alabama with their new home for the College of Continuing Studies. The facility is part of the rebuild of a hospital built in 1938, which was demolished down to the concrete structure and rebuilt. This two-year project resulted in a new video production facility equipped with state-of-the-art features–including two webcast studios–that support the University’s e-learning initiative. The entire 100,000-square-foot renovation project was focused on transforming the existing historic University Hall campus building into a new home for the College of Continuing Studies. To complete this transformation, the University of Alabama partnered with Provost Studio to create a studio optimized for remote learning–one that would support multiple presentation configurations that could easily be operated by both skilled and beginner staff. This cutting-edge studio would be housed in a structure built in 1938 that served as the Women’s Reception Building, meant to cater to patients at Bryce Hospital. Peter Provost, President & Director of Design for Provost Studio, says that the structure “underwent a dramatic transformation” in bringing the University of Alabama’s e-learning program into the 21st century. The first step in transforming the structure was tearing the existing University Hall down to its concrete framework. Working from the original structure’s concrete framework, Provost Studios was able to create two cutting-edge webcast studios with each featuring an advanced control room. With the structure completed, Provost says these two studios, “now serve as the cornerstone of the University’s ambitious virtual instruction endeavor.” The project spanned over two years, in which time the University demonstrated their commitment to embracing modern education– setting an example for how other academic institutions can adapt to learning in the digital age. Provost Studio collaborated with Williams Blackstock Architects and Bailey-Harris Construction, which were tasked to overhaul the 100,000-square foot hospital building–from mechanical, electrical, plumbing and life-safety systems to external enhancements that encompassed the replacement of the roof and windows to the restoration of the building’s iconic dome. During the two-year project timeline, the teams transforming the structure had to contend with a number of issues such as structural challenges from age and space constraints due to the project’s proximity to campus traffic. One of the major challenges stemmed from the site’s adjacency to a main campus entry point, which introduced noise via the major pedestrian thoroughfare and a dumpster pickup spot. To tackle this acoustic challenge, Provost and his team went on a walkthrough at the same time as the architecture and engineering team. This
Photo Credit: Provost Studios
Photo Credit: Provost Studios
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