University of Maryland College Park Tawes Hall

Originally home to a theater, Tawes Hall had stood vacant on the UMCP campus for more than a decade. This project reimagined the building, inserting two levels of modern learning spaces in the former auditorium and offices for the university’s Department of American Studies in the theater’s fly tower. Removing a portion of the tower’s exterior wall allowed the infusion of natural light into the four office levels created in the formerly dark 80-foot tower. Upper level views look across a rooftop terrace while light filters down through floor openings to the levels below. Program space is maximized for the university’s use and the once-dormant building today bustles with students who learn, gather, and circulate within the reinvented structure.