Renovation shines a light on McDonald Hall

Let there be light.

Prior to its recent renovation, Beatrice McDonald Hall was a dimly lit outpost on the original campus quad. Now, following a long renovation process that completely gutted the original building, it's no longer an academic cave. In fact, it's positively glowing-the walls, the art and even the furniture are illuminated. Coupled with a signature sun-soaked three-story atrium, the new McDonald Hall is a testament to the powers of renovation.

"The worst thing we saw in the building was the fact that it felt like a fallout shelter," explained Patricia Baum, UAA's project manager on the renovation. Before the fences went up and construction began, Patricia walked the halls of the old McDonald Hall and saw a wealth of problems to address.

Structurally, the building lacked enough outlets, storage space and, of course, light. The anthropology department used some classrooms for artifacts storage, stacking supplies in one corner and holding class on the other side. There was an icy approach into the building from the handicapped parking spaces and, most visibly, there were few places to sit. Students just gathered on the hallway floors.

Patricia took all this into consideration when McDonald Hall went under the knife starting in summer 2013. When the building reopened in 2015, it was a completely changed academic environment-bright, engaging and comfortable. It boasted new furniture, windows and doors, as well as new electrical system, boiler and mechanical system.

"It was basically a new building," Patricia noted.

Bright ideas

"There was back and forth on whether we were going to tear the building down or renovate it," Patricia said of McDonald Hall. After researching options, the facilities team realized it was more profitable to renovate than to start from scratch. "I understand that it is the largest renovation project on UAA campus ever," Patricia added.

McDonald Hall first opened in 1970, named after Bea McDonald-a business professor and one of the founders of Anchorage Community College. She was known as an entertaining professor who never shook her native Boston accent, and retired in 1974 as chairwoman of the business education department. She was the first ACC professor to earn the rank of full professor and the hall that bears her name-an original ACC building-is as central to campus history as she was.

In 2013, construction crews removed the portrait of Beatrice McDonald from the building and went to work gutting the interiors. They made a precise slice of the exterior to accommodate the new atrium entrance and even added a third level to the building to capture maximum sunlight.

http://youtu.be/rI5MDyLmVWA

The building's bomb shelter vibe wasn't the most visually stimulating, but it certainly helped in the renovation. "We were really blessed because the building was really strong. It was a fallout shelter, so it had a very strong structural element-the bones were very good," Patricia said. The building, it turned out, had a prime design for renovation over demolition.

The outside of the building received a tune-up, as engineers surrounded the building with heated sidewalks. Now, handicapped students have a safer access route from the parking lot, and shoes and boots track less slush and grit in from the campus quad. The landscaping team reimagined the garden beds, and the rare burr oak tree dedicated to Beatrice McDonald still stands outside the west entrance.

The interior design is just as thoughtful and equally impressive. Tall LED columns-built into the atrium walls and along hallway ceilings-flood the space with light. Office doors have half windows, so sunlight can carry into interior hallways. Anthropology gained much-needed lab space and a top-notch conference room. Classrooms are now equipped with plenty of power outlets, and the stiff tablet-style desks have been completely replaced with rolling chairs and spacious tables. Handicap individuals have height-adjustable tables.

The Department of Anthropology recently moved back home to McDonald Hall. Watch a video of the move from campus newspaper The Northern Light.

http://youtu.be/1yVkvTj7VF0

Everything is illuminated

Once inside, the rows of light box photographs are perhaps the most striking visual element of the new building. As a public works project, 1% of the budget must support art installations, per the State of Alaska's 1% for Art program. Patricia-a professional interior and lighting designer-smartly used the art budget both to beautify the building and contribute to the design.

Alaska photographers shot the photographs that line the hallways. Students can tour Alaska as they tour the building, passing pebbled beaches and blooming flowers, hieroglyphics from Southeast and whalebone from the North Slope. Each photo is placed on a resin panel and internally lit by LED light-no accent lights required-and each image reflects an academic department housed in McDonald Hall, like geography, anthropology, aquatic ecology and botany.

Patricia solved the building's furniture problem with another bright idea. By completely reconstructing the main entrance into a three-story foyer, Patricia was able to greatly increase gathering space. Take a close look and you'll see the couches line up with the photographs, which line up with the LED columns. "All the furniture is planned with the architecture-it's not an afterthought," she said.

The interior hallways are spruced up with glowing green benches lining the walls. Students used to sit all over the floor-now they have far more comfortable options before class starts. And, like most other things in the building, the benches do their part to add light and color to the space.

A celebration of renovation

The building may still have its narrow windows and long hallways, but the thoughtful design has turned the low-slung fallout shelter into a bright and engaging academic space. It's the power of renovation.

"I think this is a good example of what we can do with the rest of the 1970s buildings on campus. You don't have to tear them all down, you can basically make them into a new building and have it be a really nice building that people want to be in," Patricia said. "Sometimes you do cost savings and you really don't get what you want, but this way you're able to get cost savings and get something you really can use."

The building reopened at the start of the 2015 spring semester. Beatrice McDonald's portrait is back home now, reinstalled opposite the grand entrance, where she can welcome students to her sharp new home.

"She's in a nice spot," Patricia smiled.

Take a digital tour of the renovated building on Flickr, with captions, on any device. To see the following slideshow full-screen images, click on the arrow icon in the bottom right corner on the slideshow below. While in full-screen mode, an "Options" setting in the upper right-hand corner will allow you to view photo titles and captions.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/128222201@N07/sets/72157650789437062/show

Written by J. Besl, UAA Office of University Advancement