Structural engineering design included a 17,000-sf renovation of c.1903 Flynn Hall and a 3,000-sf addition to create a premier center for the fine and performing arts.

Founded in 1808, Mount Saint Mary’s University is the second-oldest independent Catholic university in the U.S. To accommodate its growing student enrollment, the university renovated and expanded a campus building to create a new performing arts center.

Keast & Hood provided extensive structural design for the project as structural engineer of record. The addition contains a scene shop, dressing rooms, storage lofts, and a communicating stair and lift to connect both levels of Flynn Hall with the addition. An expansion joint was incorporated into the design approach to permit the existing building and addition to operate as independent structures. A series of 21-inch deep wide-flange beams span the theater and support a new theatrical pipe grid and steel catwalks along the east and west perimeters. Cold-formed metal roof trusses spanning over 50 feet were incorporated into the addition. The addition’s exterior walls utilize precast stone veneer, selected to seamlessly match the cut-stone masonry of the existing building.

Additional structural scope included strengthening historic timber floor framing below the main assembly, performance, and gallery spaces with engineered lumber; acoustic isolation of performance and circulation spaces; and a design and installation sequence related to a pair of 16-inch deep concrete-encased steel beams supporting a new 16-foot wide opening in an existing brick masonry wall assembly.

Structural engineering design included a 17,000-sf renovation of c.1903 Flynn Hall and a 3,000-sf addition to create a premier center for the fine and performing arts.

Founded in 1808, Mount Saint Mary’s University is the second-oldest independent Catholic university in the U.S. To accommodate its growing student enrollment, the university renovated and expanded a campus building to create a new performing arts center.

Keast & Hood provided extensive structural design for the project as structural engineer of record. The addition contains a scene shop, dressing rooms, storage lofts, and a communicating stair and lift to connect both levels of Flynn Hall with the addition. An expansion joint was incorporated into the design approach to permit the existing building and addition to operate as independent structures. A series of 21-inch deep wide-flange beams span the theater and support a new theatrical pipe grid and steel catwalks along the east and west perimeters. Cold-formed metal roof trusses spanning over 50 feet were incorporated into the addition. The addition’s exterior walls utilize precast stone veneer, selected to seamlessly match the cut-stone masonry of the existing building.

Additional structural scope included strengthening historic timber floor framing below the main assembly, performance, and gallery spaces with engineered lumber; acoustic isolation of performance and circulation spaces; and a design and installation sequence related to a pair of 16-inch deep concrete-encased steel beams supporting a new 16-foot wide opening in an existing brick masonry wall assembly.

CLIENT: Ayers Saint Gross
LOCATION: Emmitsburg, MD

TYPE: Academic, Cultural, Historic, SERVICES: Addition, Historic Preservation, New Construction, Renovation, MATERIALS: Concrete, Heavy Timber, Masonry, Steel, Wood, SUSTAINABILITY: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Completed project photography courtesy Ayers Saint Gross