Saint Olaf College, Fine Arts Master Plan
Northfield, MinnesotaAt liberal arts colleges the arts are seen as an integral part of a student's four year course of study as well as an indispensable component of student life. St. Olaf College is currently undertaking a major physical reorganization of all the arts programs to create an arts precinct in the center of their hill top campus. The centerpiece to the master plan will be a new 1800-seat concert hall as a home for St. Olaf's highly acclaimed choral and orchestral tradition, as well as for visiting performers. The facility will house acoustically superb performance, practice and rehearsal spaces, as well as all support spaces for musicians and patrons alike. The building will serve as a beacon with stunning views to and from the hilltop location. New academic music spaces will be added to the existing music building to expand its rehearsal and teaching capabilities. The theater program will be enhanced with a new laboratory theater. The studio arts and dance programs were moved to the renovated student union building which opened in 2001 as the Dittmann Center for Art and Dance.