Williams '62 Center Earns National Award12:00AM / Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Williamstown - The Williams College Class of '62 Center for Theatre and Dance has earned national recognition in the 2006 Innovative Design in Engineering and Architecture with Structural Steel awards program [IDEAS]. Conducted annually by the American Institute of Steel Construction [AISC], the IDEAS awards recognize outstanding achievements in engineering and architecture on structural steel projects around the country.
The Williams College project earned National Award recognition in the category of Projects $15-$75 million. Each year, the IDEAS Awards honor NAtional and Merit award winners in three categories' based on constructed value: Projects Less than $15 million, Projects $15-$75 million, and Projects of $75 million or greater. Each project is judged on its' use of structural steel, with an emphasis on creative solutions tp project requirements, design innovation, aesthetic and visual impact of the project, innovative use of architecturally exposed structural steel, technical or architectural advances in the use of steel, and the use of innovative design and construction methods.
The 11 IDEAS winners for 2006 were chosen from over 70 submissions received by architectural and engineering firms throughout the U.S.. Each submission is reviewed and award winners are selected by a nationally recognized panel of design and construction industry professionals.
The Class of '62 Center for Theatre and Dance supports performing arts students in their pursuit of artistic excellence and serves as a world-class venue for the Williamstown Theatre Festival. The center includes four performance venues; the 550-seat MainStage Theatre, the the 200-seat center STage Theatre, the 210-seat Adams Memorial Theatre, and the Dance Studio. In reviewing the Williams College project - one of only three to earn recognition in the $15-$75 million category- the panel noted "It's difficult to design modern structures with such warmth and intimacy. The use of exposed steel on the project unifies the design, while taking full advantage of the rural landscape by framing the panoramic views for which the Berkshires are known."
Williams College and the entire Class of '62 Center project team will receive their IDEAS award from the AISC during a public ceremony at the Center at 10:45 a.m. Wed. June 14. Project team members include architects William Rawn Associates, Architects, of Boston, structural engineers LeMessurier Consultants of Cambridge, steel fabricator, erector and detailers Cives Steel, of Roswell, Georgia, projevt genral contractor Barr and Barr of Framingham, and Williams College.
The IDEAS awards are among the nation's most prestigious in the fields of architecture and engineering, with the annual awards program dating back over 70 years to the earliest years of the AISC's existence. Roger E. Perch, F.E., commented "The Williams College Class of '62 Center for Theatre and Dance is an outstanding example of the innovative steel design and engineering work being done across the country. As with all of our IDEAS winners, the Center shows that steel is an ideal solution for architectural, structural, and constructive challenges of every description. Williams College's award winning team showed how creative, innovative, economical, and inspiring steel structures can be."
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