Pfeiffer Partners, working with SUNY Oswego, the State University Construction Fund and FDA, has completed detailed space programming and concept design for the newly formed School of Communication, Media and the Arts (SCMA) to be accommodated in two fully renovated buildings, as well as a possible new addition.

The new, accessible 525-seat Waterman Theatre eliminates long continental seating rows and improves sightlines. Technical systems have been updated and expanded, including new stage dimming and lighting controls, pit lift, stage floor and traps, fire curtain, and expanded multimedia capability. Renovations will also include a two-story music rehearsal hall doubling as a new venue for small performances; facade improvements that include two inviting new entrances at the building’s eastern corners, leading to a spacious and welcoming lobby; an expanded box office, a new elevator, a larger and more flexible Tyler Art Gallery, a digital media lab and a recording studio; and a host of environmentally friendly improvements to the building’s HVAC and other systems, from lower level to roof. This renovation is Phase 1 of a master plan for the facility.