The renovation of Hewitt Hall, led by Cannon Design, will provide 132,285 square feet of innovative teaching spaces, studios, and laboratories for the following programs within SCMA – the School of Communication, Media and the Arts.

Communication Studies

  • Broadcasting and Mass Communication.
  • Communication.
  • Journalism.
  • Public Relations.
  • Strategic Communication.

Art & Design

  • Graphic Design.
  • Illustration.
  • Interaction Design.

Cinema & Screen Studies

Images of the interior of Hewitt Hall

Hewitt Hall has been reimagined with the following design goals

  • Be a State of the Art Facility that elevates the Broadcasting and Mass Communication Program to the Top 10 in the Country.
  • Provide collaboration and innovation across programs.
  • Create an Arts Cluster with Tyler Hall.
  • Reinforce and strengthen the connections between faculty and students.

KEY FEATURES

  • State of the art teaching studios and laboratories.
  • Collaborative Core with center atrium skylights, staircase, and lounge areas for informal interactions.
  • Ballroom with redesigned exterior patio and garden courtyard.
  • Screening Room for watching film and practicing public speaking.
  • Whitebox Gallery for multi-media design display.
  • Café with interior and exterior seating.

IMPORTANT NEW SPACES

Communication Studies

  • 2 State of the Art Broadcasting Studios and Control Rooms.
  • Newsroom.
  • Media Production Lab.
  • Audio Editing and Audio Foley Suite.
  • Video / Audio Editing Lab.
  • Audio, ADR, and Voice-over Booths
  • Focus Group and Observation Rooms.

Art & Design

  • Whitebox Gallery.
  • Foundation Studio.
  • Intermediate Studio and Breakout Studio.
  • Advanced Studio.
  • Workroom with Spray both and custom work tables.
  • Printing and Protyping Room.
  • Interactive Studio.

Shared Spaces across Programs

  • 4 Virtual Reality Booths and Breakout Studio.
  • Screening Room.
  • 3 Project Studios.
  • 4 Mac and PC Computer Labs.    
  • 4 Classrooms.
  • Animation Lab.
  • Team Work Areas and Meeting Rooms.

Sustainable Performance Goals include

  • LEED Silver Certification.
  • SUCF Directive 1B-2 Net Zero Carbon New Buildings and Deep Energy Retrofits of Existing Buildings.

LEED Silver Certification is being pursued for the Hewitt Hall renovation. LEED uses 8 main categories to assess the quality of sustainable performance. The following are the 8 categories with some of the specific building implementation strategies:

Location and Transportation

  • Sensitive Land Protection - Reuse of existing site. 
  • Access to Quality Transit - Public transportation system access on campus.

Sustainable Sites

  • Construction Activity Pollution Prevention - Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan and temporary erosion control to reduce sediment into nearby waterbodies.

Water Efficiency

  • Outdoor Water Use Reduction – Reduction in landscaping watering through the use of native / adaptive plant species, no site irrigation planned.
  • Indoor Water Use Reduction – WaterSense Certified / Energy Star products in water fixtures.
  • Building Wide Water Metering - Track water usage, so that efficiency can be reviewed and maintained.

Energy and Atmosphere

  • Building Wide Energy Metering - Track energy usage, so that efficiency can be reviewed and maintained.
  • Optimized energy performance – Geothermal heat pump system with chilled beams significantly reduces energy and carbon consumption.

Materials and Resources

  • Storage and Collection of Recyclables - Collection of waste for recycling of building occupants will be in alignment with the Campus’ recycling efforts.
  • Construction and Demolition Waste Management – The project will aim to recycle 75% of the construction waste generated.

Indoor Enviromental Quality

  • Indoor Air Quality Performance - Meet ASHRAE standard 62.1 for improved indoor air ventilation.
  • Environmental Tobacco Smoke Control – No smoking on campus.
  • Low Emitting Materials – Interior materials to be chosen that have low / no VOCs.

Innovation

  • Walkable Project Site.
  • Back-Up Power Generation.
  • Building as a Teaching Tool – Signage throughout the building will provide educational insight into the energy efficient strategies implemented.

Regional Priority

  • Rainwater Management.
  • Heat Island Reduction.
  • Building Life Cycle Impact Reduction.

 The SUCF Directive 1B-2 Net Zero Carbon New Buildings and Deep Energy Retrofits of Existing Buildings seeks specific performance goals to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions.   

  • Goal - 50% reduction of site’s annual energy consumption.
    • Hewitt Hall Design achieves 67.2% reduction in site’s annual energy consumption (exceeds 50% goal by 17.2%).
  • Goal – 25% reduction in building’s current annual site carbon consumption.
    • Hewitt Hall Design achieves 52.6% reduction in carbon emissions (exceeds 25% goal by 27.6%)

Energy reduction strategies being implemented to exceed these goals include:

  • Water to water geothermal heat pump loop with chilled beams, incorporating 90 Geothermal wells, 499 feet deep.
  • Night flush cooling.
  • Roof, window, and curtain wall replacement.
  • Wall and roof insulation optimization.
  • Reduction in thermal bridging and incorporation of air barriers.
  • Incorporating South/ west façade glazing shading.
  • Skylight solar gain and daylight optimization.
  • High efficiency LED lights.
  • High efficiency lighting controls, daylighting and occupancy sensors.