IMEG provided structural and MEP engineering design and services, along with construction administration, for the transformation of Wheaton College’s Armerding Hall into the new Armerding Center for Music and Arts. The new home of the school’s Conservatory of Music provides state-of-the-art facilities for students and faculty who previously used multiple buildings that were inadequate for their needs.

The two-phase project began with the renovation of the existing hall, formerly used as a science building. The renovated spaces include faculty and administrative spaces, a digital keyboard lab, two recording studios attached to music performance spaces, practice rooms, music learning lab, chamber music rooms, teaching studios, a choral rehearsal hall, and 108-seat recital hall.

Engineering designs included an AHU with an underfloor displacement delivery system with 64 cored diffusers under the seats to provide comfort, no air noise, and energy efficiency.

In the second phase of the project, nearby Breyer Hall was demolished to provide room for the construction of a 648-seat concert hall addition on the west side of Armerding Hall. The facility exterior matches the materials and colors of the existing building, and also includes offices, studios, practice rooms, and classrooms.