Architecture
Davis Center Design
For the first time, Georgetown will have a space designed for specifically
for performance. 
The nationally-recognized architectural firm of 3H (formerly Hardy, Holzman and Pfeiffer ) designed the Davis Center in consultation with theater professionals in the Theater Program as well as in New York. Georgetown also hired Fischer-Dachs, a leading consultant company for professional theatres, to help review building plans and recommend how to outfit it. This project, managed by Steve Lamp of the Georgetown Architects Office, and contracted to Bovis Construction, features an exquisite blend of masonry, steel and brickwork.
With state-of-the-art equipment throughout, the Davis Center will feature teaching laboratories for performance and design, two performance venues--the Gonda Theatre and Devine Studio Theatre--, green rooms for actors, and temperature-controlled storage spaces for costumes and set pieces. It will also house the administrative hub for the Program in Performing Arts, and the faculty offices for the Theater Program. Some highlights include:
- The soaring lobby preserves the graceful, ceiling-height windows of the former Ryan Administration Building (and first Georgetown Gymnasium). Open to the structural steel, it will be a grand and welcoming space, while remaining in scale with the rest of the building. Our entry to the public, the lobby will hold a box office, concession area, and windows overlooking the campus green.
- The steep rake of The Gonda Theatre auditorium will assure that every seat is indeed a good seat, In addition, the acoustical design, from the clever isolation from outside noise to the near-silence of the HVAC will make the space welcoming to all kinds of productions.
- The fly space (height of the ceiling in the stage area) assures that we can produce a flexible range of production settings, with backdrops, multimedia surfaces, and, of course, a gracious curtain for the proscenium arch.
- The Gonda Theatre will have an orchestra pit to support musical productions; this clever design moves in and out of the space, depending on a production's needs--and can convert to a seating area when desired.
- The technical specifications and equipment for the Gonda Theatre and the Devine Studio Theatre are designed to take perfect advantage of both the limited footprint and all of the state-of-the-art equipment available. The flexibility in both spaces make them perfect teaching ecosystems.
- The Devine Studio Theatre offers exciting staging options for a range of productions. Its seating areas, sound and lighting equipment, and performance configurations are fully flexible, so this will be the standout space for theater-in-the-round, environmental stagings, and chamber theater.
- The state-of-the-art Scene and Costume shops, as well as their design and layout, will give us the capacity to teach the crafts in a truly professional manner. The Costume Shop, for example, opens directly to costume storage, and will support costume construction as well as dyeing. The Scene Shop will be fully-equipped with power tools, building and paint areas, and safety features.
