SM&W Contribution
Shen Milsom & Wilke provided acoustical, audiovisual, IT infrastructure and security design services for Northern Virginia Community College’s (NVCC) 80,000-square-foot replacement of the Tyler Building, now known as the Center for Design, Media and Arts. Originally purchased from the Alexandria Public Schools in 1980, the building was used to house the campus bookstore and fitness center. The replacement facility expanded on these features, offering outdoor terraces, a Barnes & Noble bookstore café and specialized athletic rooms. In addition, students were provided upgraded classrooms for studio art, dance, music and drama, as well as a black-box theater.
Our audiovisual team designed the black-box theater and worked on the reconfigurable rehearsal hall that has multiple points of connectivity. Student individual practice rooms offer recording and playback of individual practice sessions, with the information stored and managed in a central archival system.
Our acousticians focused on acoustical separation between spaces in the new Tyler Building, isolating the individual practice rooms so students may practice uninterrupted. Both audiovisual and acoustics teams worked with the design team in the gymnasiums, which have a high-volume audio system, a large digital display and multiple smaller displays for events with a large crowd.
