Schematic plans have recently been released for a new recital hall to occupy the Curtis Pool space next to David Saul Smith Union. The project, now seven years in the planning, will cost an estimated $8.5 million dollars in construction costs and will be ready for use by fall 2007.
According to Director of Capital Projects Don Borkowski, the hall will fill the College's need for a "state-of-the-art, intimate concert facility with quality acoustics." Borkowski estimates that the new facility will accommodate roughly 300 people, making it larger than both Kresge Auditorium and the Bowdoin Chapel, which are spaces currently utilized for musical performances. The floor plan also includes nine practice rooms, a warm-up room, storage space, and will include recording equipment.
Borkowski says the concert hall reflects Bowdoin's "emphasis on music and the performing arts," and hopes that the facility will attract both prospective students and professional musicians to the College. Professor of Music Mary Hunter shares these expectations.
"I think we'll be able to attract a certain level of performer here that we were not able to before," Hunter said. "It's a physical sign on campus that music is important. I know that we're losing good musicians to other schools because we don't have the facilities here."
Music major Tim Kantor '07 says that although Bowdoin's facilities seemed comparable to other schools that he considered attending, he sees "tremendous need for the facility, partially because there isn't a hall on campus designed with proper acoustics." Kantor, who has played the violin since age four, said the facility will fulfill a considerable need for practice space and will mean access to valuable recording equipment.
The College is currently negotiating with a Maine-based construction company and will begin preliminary construction work as early as September 2006, Borkowski said.
Bowdoin is also in the preliminary stages of planning for a new hockey rink. According to Borkowski, tentative plans would place the rink in the student parking lot outside Farley Field House. The current rink could then be utilized for additional parking space, said Borkowski.
The plan could also involve moving the Men's Varsity soccer field further down Harpswell Road, paving over that current field space, and revamping the rotunda to control traffic flow. Borkowski stressed that all plans for the rink project were in developmental stages, and that the College was working alongside neighbors to preserve the natural pine forests that border the athletic complex.