HOPKINS CENTER PLANS

Advisory Committee Holds Summer Meetings and Recommends Changes To Increase Both Beauty and Utility of Auditorium Building

INCREASES IN THE seating capacity of both the main auditorium and the Little Theater are among the changes made in the plans for the Hopkins Center since the first detailed outline was released last year. Greater use of glass is being made throughout the front portion of the building to provide a better view of the campus from the undergraduate and faculty lounge rooms.

The Center, a tribute to PresidentEmeritus Ernest Martin Hopkins, has been designed to fulfill four major needs of the College:

(1) An auditorium adequate to accommodate the entire student body, together with faculty and visitors.

(2) Facilities for music and drama and for the application of modern arts and techniques as aids to better teaching.

(3) Student union facilities where men can gather for informal meetings, social events and other activities which bind together the undergraduate life of the College.

(4) Faculty clubrooms where classroom and academic interests can be carried into the friendly atmosphere of conversation with colleagues.

The seating capacity of the auditorium has been increased to 3,000, large enough to take care of the postwar student body of 2,500 with ample room for faculty and visitors. The number of seats in the Little Theater has been increased from 500 to 600 in order to accommodate such large classes as the Great Issues Course, which will require many other facilities of the Center.

According to Professor Russell R. Larmon '19, chairman of the Hopkins Center Advisory Building Committee, which has been reviewing the plans in a series of summer meetings, suggestions for improvements will be considered until construction actually starts at the site, on the corner of East Wheelock and College streets where Bissell Hall now stands. The Board of Trustees has voted that construction should begin as soon as building conditions permit and it is hoped that ground can be broken next summer.

The committee's concern for detail was evidenced at its July meeting, when plans for ventilating and soundproofing each section of the building were discussed. Guided by an earlier Trustees' resolution that past College standards in ventilation should be raised, the committee agreed that the extent of air conditioning and soundproofing should vary throughout the building according to an economically sound policy.

Both the Little Theater and the main auditorium will have complete ventilation, sealed from the outside air with means for raising and lowering the degree of temperature and humidity. All other parts of the entire structure are being studied to determine how best to secure adequate ventilation as well as soundproofing.

J. Fredrick Larson, Architect of the College, recommended that fireproof plywood paneling of a light color be used throughout the auditorium and Little Theater, including the ceilings. The Advisory Committee approved this plan which has long been contemplated as the best way to secure maximum beauty and the most effective acoustics.

AUDITORIUM TO BE FLEXIBLE IN SIZE

More complete details of the seating and stage arrangements in both the auditorium and the Little Theater have now been worked out following the summer discussions of the planning committee, which serves in an advisory capacity under the Trustee Committee on the Hopkins Center, headed by Edward S. French 'O6. By means of movable partitions, the seating capacity of the main auditorium can be reduced to approximately 2,000 by blocking off all but a few rows in the balcony and further reduced to 1,000 by blocking off the upper half of the orchestra.

Whenever the size of the main auditorium is reduced, only the side entrances which connect with the main lobby will be used. In this way, the audience will be unaware of that part of the auditorium which has been blocked off.

The orchestra pit will be on a lift, divided into six sections, each of which can be raised to the auditorium floor level. In the case of performances by featured artists such as violinists, pianists and vocal soloists, the raised orchestra pit may be used instead of the main stage to prevent sound from being lost in stage wings.

Although the seating capacity of the Little Theater has been increased to accommodate the entire senior class, a movable partition similar to those in use in the main auditorium will be installed to reduce the seating capacity to 500, a more appropriate size for the intimate type of stage productions.

No "SIGHTLESS" SEATS

Every attempt is being made to design both the main auditorium and the Little Theater according to the best acoustical principles. Also, unlike that of Webster Hall, the seating arrangement will give every one in the audience a good view of the stage.

According to the present blueprint of the Hopkins Center, the first floor will have the main auditorium, alumni lounge, general ticket offices, faculty dining room, and East and West Promenades in the front portion of the building. In the rear will be the Little Theater, dramatics workshop, dressing rooms, Green Room, drama director's office, general office of the drama department, general office of the music department, music classrooms and music practice rooms.

In the basement there will be undergraduate game rooms, a tavern, glee club room, band room, chorus room, dressing and rehearsal rooms, storage rooms arid heelers' office.

The front portion of the second floor will include the undergraduate lounge, soda bar, social rooms, and College Hostess' rooms, while the rear of this floor will contain the music library, music listening rooms and music practice rooms.

On the third floor there will be conference rooms, drama library, additional music practice rooms, classrooms, design studio, drama offices and a costume repair room.

The fourth floor will have faculty club rooms in the front of the building and undergraduate radio studios and offices, radio work shops, costume storage space and provisions for a future television studio in the back.

A miniature model showing the exterior appearance of the Hopkins Center has been authorized, and plans for its construction are in charge of Robert K. Hage '35, executive secretary of the Hopkins Center Project Committee, and Mr. Larson.

The estimated cost of building and equipping the Hopkins Center is §3,500,000. The campaign to raise this money is now being organized and will be described in detail in the November issue of the ALUMNI MAGAZINE.

E. G. S.

ADVISORY PLANNING COMMITTEE FOR NEW CENTER: left to right, Halsey C. Edgerton '06, Treasurer of the College; Prof. Russell R. Larmon '19, chairman; Prof. John H. Minnich '27; Sidney C. Hayward '26, Secretary of the College; J. Frederick Larson, Architect of the College; and Warner Bentley, Graduate Manager of COSO. This group acts in an advisory capacity to the Trustees' Plant Committee.

RE-DESIGNED FACADE OF THE HOPKINS CENTER: Liberal amounts of glass will be used in the front of the building to afford a good view of the campus, including Baker Library and Dartmouth Row. Drawing shows the Center as it will look from Reed Hall at the corner of E. Wheelock and College streets.

PROPOSED PLAN OF NEW ALUMNI LOUNGE: Architect's drawing as viewed from the main entrance. The lounge will serve a double role as meeting place for returning alumni and as lobby of auditorium, entrance of which is shown in rear. Stairs on both sides lead to the balcony and undergraduate social quarters.