The project consists of a comprehensive renovation of the 28,000-gsf existing building and a 14,000-gsf addition that provides an entirely new facility for the Department of Chemistry. The building contains undergraduate teaching laboratories, independent study, faculty research laboratories, support space, lecture areas, and faculty offices.

The placement of the addition sites the new entrance opposite the Timpkin Science Library and student pathway. It incorporates the same materials as the existing Severance Hall and is contextual in massing and detail to the existing Jacobean architectural character of the College of Wooster campus.

The addition, however, responds to existing paths and adjacent buildings with a distinct and decidedly un-traditional character. The building's form, especially the new main entrance, recognizes new patterns of pedestrian traffic from the student center, housing, athletic facilities, and the science library. The two-story entry lobby forms a new centerpiece of the facility. The addition is placed on the east side of the existing Severance Hall and provides the new main entrance. It provides the large programmatic spaces that the turn of the century Severance Hall cannot accommodate, which includes a large lecture hall and two large teaching laboratories. Further enhancements include a new shared student lounge between Severance and the adjacent Mateer Biology Building which opens onto a landscaped garden.

The College's appreciation for the old Severance building led to the architectural solution of retaining the soaring height spaces by adding tall, graceful windows; natural light floods all spaces except for instrument rooms.

The two general chemistry teaching laboratories are placed next to each other on the first floor with open passageways between them, allowing flexibility in class sizes and teaching methods. All of the laboratories are arranged to allow pre-lab discussions with clear sightlines to the front of the room. The organic chemistry laboratory is arranged with 12 six-foot chemical fume hoods around the perimeter that are shared by two students each. The center of the room is an instrument space with a ring of counter-top surrounding it, used for laptop computers and textbooks. Instructors can easily observe activity in the hoods from the bench area in the middle of the labs, and they can conduct discussions with the entire group of students while they are seated at the counters.

Project Information
Building Owner:		College of Wooster
Owner Contact:		Dr. Richard Bromund, Professor of Chemistry
Building Location:		Wooster, OH UNITED STATES
Project Type:		Expansion,Renovation
Principal Building Function:		Academic, lab, research, teaching
Project Timeline		Jun 1992 Planning Start Jun 1992 Design Start May 1998 Construction Start Sep 1999 Completion Last known status: Completed
Construction Cost:		$8,500,000
Cost Per Sq. Ft:		$186
		About These Cost Figures
Building Information
Project Includes:		Chemistry Education Education: Faculty Office Education: Lecture Or Seminar Hall Laboratory: Research Laboratory: Teaching Library Office
Total GSF:		42,000
Total NSF:		21,870
Efficiency:		47%
Building Population:		450
People Density:		104 gsf/person
Building Services:		Vacuum
Office Size:		200 NSF
Power Req:		42 w/nsf
HVAC Req:		3.2 cfm/nsf
Structure/Foundation:		Steel moment frame, concrete spread footings
Laboratory Parameters
Lab Module:		12' spacing
Casework Mat'l:		Red oak casework with epoxy resin countertops
Fume Hoods:		Seven 4', Six 5', Thirty Six 6'
Project Team
Architect		Payette
Profile Created 02/01/2001
Last Updated 04/04/2006
About the Reported Cost Figures The cost figures reported are supplied by the firms that submitted these projects for publication, which in most cases are the designers or builders. Whereas these sources are intimately familiar with their projects, they may not be fully aware of the owners' finally-realized and recorded costs. In some cases, costs are truly and completely accounted for, and in others they represent a near approximation of the final costs. Costs have not been adjusted for year of construction, nor has any attempt been made to make regional cost adjustments. Further, costs are not comparable on any kind of detailed standard costing model. Hence, it is possible for the cost of one building to include a steam boiler, while the cost of a comparable building might not include the boiler, if steam is being supplied from an already existing campus grid. Or, in another case, a building might include excess boiler capacity to supply steam to another building. Some submittals include fees or unusual site improvements as part of the construction costs, which others do not.