Emerson College renovated the historic downtown Colonial Theater building to convert office space on the building’s upper floors into 372 beds of contemporary student housing while maintaining the theater’s operations.
SBA’s interior design aesthetic encapsulates the avant-garde style of Emerson’s communications and performing arts students. Drawing on a black-box theater aesthetic and industrial elements, the new Residence Hall features common kitchens and lounges as “center stage” areas, where living and recreational functions intersect. A curved, sculpted wooden ceiling connects these spaces, while canted walls with glazed openings invite students from corridors into the common social areas.
“Off-stage” dormitory rooms feature simple white walls, suspended ceilings, and lay-in lighting. The interior embraces the building’s original finishes, such as riveted steel columns, historic staircases, and marble window stools, while contrasting them with a range of unique modern finishes.
Project Features:
• Adaptive Reuse – Student housing
• Article 80 Large Project Review
• LEED Silver Registration
• 10 stories
• 372 beds
• Completed a full year ahead of schedule
• Specialized acoustical design separates noise between the dormitory and theater
• All city approvals were obtained fast-track, with close collaboration between the Design/Build team and Emerson College
LEED Status: Gold certification
- Sustainable elements included a high performance building envelope
- Sun controls
- Access to mass transit
- Rainwater detention and reuse.
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