Project overview: The Davis Center manifests the enduring impact of student advocacy for social justice and inclusive community at Williams College. Tracing its roots to 1969 campus protests, the renovated and expanded Center reopened in 2024 as a hub of programs and spaces supporting historically underrepresented communities and advancing campus engagement with complex issues of identity, history and culture. Through a significant new addition and comprehensive energy retrofit renovations to the existing buildings, the new Davis Center provides fully accessible resources and community spaces for students and faculty.
The reimagined 25,800 sf Center is unified by a major new addition nestled between the existing and beloved Rice and Jenness Houses. A central plaza unites the three buildings, which house affinity group spaces, a multipurpose event space, a community kitchen, space for religious practice and meditation, study spaces, and staff offices. The project carves a new universally accessible path down to Walden Street and establishes a new public entrance facing Spring Street, reaching out past campus edges to connect to Williamstown beyond.
Flanked by the hipped roofs and dormers of Rice and Jenness Houses, the new wing of the Davis Center re-interprets domestic roof typologies with a dynamic roofscape echoing the peaks and valleys of the surrounding Berkshire mountains. From within, this roofscape is experienced as a series of folded ceiling planes making each space in the upper level unique. The addition is clad in charred wood, a symbolic celebration of the community’s resilience in the face of struggle and adversity.
Architect of Record: Leers Weinzapfel Associates Architects, Inc
Completion: 2024
Client: Williams College
Jury comments: Historic, connector, and contemporary—solidly really good work. Williams College commons building navigates a difficult site with an interesting bridge connection to the Rice House. High sustainability metrics add to a strong, thoughtful project.
Images/Photographer: Albert Vecerka / ESTO General Contractor: Consigli Construction Civil Engineer: Nitsch Engineering Specifications: Kalin Associates Structural: RSE Associates Mechanical: BVH integrated Services, now Salas O’Brien Electrical: BVH integrated Services, now Salas O’Brien Plumbing: BVH integrated Services, now Salas O’Brien Acoustics: Cavanaugh Tocci Audio Visual: BVH integrated Services, now Salas O’Brien Landscape: Stimson Lighting: LAM Partners Geotechnical: GZA Code Consulting: WB Engineering, Jigsaw Life Safety Accessibility: KMA Cost Estimating: Vermulens Sustainability: Integrated Eco Strategy LEED: Integrated Eco-Strategy
