The College intends to repurpose much of Lawrence Hall as an interdisciplinary center for student art following the completion of the Williams College Museum of Art’s (WCMA) new building in 2027.
Interim Coordinator for Student Involvement Trevor Briggs announced the building as “a new arts entity that intentionally encourages interdisciplinary exchange and accelerates the exploration of new media or multimedia,” in a Feb. 18 email to RSO (Registered Student Organizations) representatives.
“The Office of Planning, Design & Construction with MBB Architects are working to find the best fit of creative extra-curricular activities for this unique and beloved building,” Briggs wrote. “[Lawrence] will be the continued home of the Art History wing of the art department and a future hub of student-led arts spaces, maker spaces, rehearsal, performance and exhibition spaces.”
Last Thursday, MBB met with RSO representatives at a town hall in Bronfman Auditorium to collect input on the building’s future. MBB organized the event as part of a larger programming study they are conducting on the building. The study will compile specific proposed uses of the building as well as budget and timeline estimates for construction.
The project began last fall and will conclude with a presentation at the Board of Trustees’ meeting in October, according to MBB Project Manager Jean Li. “The job is really to assess Lawrence Hall, the existing building, its systems and capabilities, and to assess what … can fit within the space,” Li said.
She said that the study will propose uses for the building, including the types of rooms in the space and their size and capacity.
Planning for the project began in 2019, when the College began to discuss WCMA’s relocation and released its Strategic Plan, according to the College’s Museum Project Director Devon Nowlin. “There was a faculty and staff working group that was thinking ahead about what happens to Lawrence Hall … when there is a new museum,” she said.
The 2020 Future of the Arts report, produced by a working group of the same name, noted that “Lawrence would have enough square footage to make an excellent center for the arts at Williams.”
“There’s been a lot of great groundwork laid by Williams College already, through the Future of the Arts report and then a follow up report by the Lawrence Hall Steering Committee,” Li added.
At the town hall meeting, students identified a lack of spaces dedicated to student life and art on campus. “Students talked about the fact that RSOs are not just an outlet for creativity or just to have fun, but really a structure where students are teaching and learning from each other,” Li said.
Jack Allen Greenfield ’27, vice president of Purple Valley Productions and a production manager on the board of Cap & Bells, noted that many RSOs struggle to find spaces to meet their needs. “For Purple Valley Productions, we lack storage, and film requires a lot of equipment,” Greenfield said. “We often have to keep things like lights and cameras and C-stands in either people’s [common rooms] or in Spencer Art Building … which limits the accessibility of what should be a very accessible club.”
Performance venues are also difficult to access for RSOs. “With the ’62 Center, they often give [Cap & Bells] only one space, and with [the Office of Campus Life], the spaces are being competed over with other groups,” Greenfield said.
Greenfield said he hopes a renovated Lawrence could remedy his concerns. “I hope to see storage [and] I hope to see performance spaces.”
Farris Farouki ’27, a production manager on the board of Cap and Bells, echoed Greenfield’s concerns and said that he hoped Lawrence would also host rehearsal venues. “We’re really, really hoping that Lawrence Hall can be a space to help [Cap & Bells] not only with shows, but also rehearsals.”
Nowlin said that the project was likely to continue. “After the programming report … we would go into a design phase and get a lot more into detail about a renovation,” she said.
While the project’s scale is dependent on input from the College, Nowlin said that the project team is already considering renovation options. “We are looking at a small, medium, and large plan,” she said.
“The small plan may look like the building as it is, but with some accessibility upgrades, with mechanical system upgrades, and reorganizing the building in a moderate way,” she said. “The maximum plan might look like some targeted expansions of the building, and then we’ll consider a medium plan also.”
“We don’t know yet what the College will decide is appropriate for the future,” Nowlin added. She said that construction, if approved, would begin after WCMA vacates the building in 2027.
Nowlin and Li both said that opportunities for students to provide feedback will continue through the spring and into the fall. “We really appreciate all the students taking time to come to these meetings,” Li said.
“I think it’s a very good idea, I just hope it’s executed well,” Greenfield said.
