By transforming former student residences Hedge Hall (1890) and Roger Williams Hall (1895) into homes for a range of academic departments and programs, Bates will strengthen the College’s intertwined academic and social culture; support high standards for sustainability and energy efficiency; and continue the stunning redefinition of the central Bates campus.

Begun in March 2010, the Hedge / Roger Williams project is the fourth and final undertaking of Phase I of the Campus Facilities Master Plan, which also produced Gillespie Hall, Alumni Walk and New Commons. The current project also represents a significant act of historic and architectural preservation: Hedge and Roger Williams both help to tell the important early history of Bates.

On these pages, you can:

• Learn about the Hedge Hall project.
• Learn about the Roger Williams Hall project.
• Learn about green building at Bates.
• See floor plans for each building.
• Follow the project’s progress by reading Campus Construction Updates.

Like the successful spaces created in Pettengill Hall (1999), the new academic spaces in Hedge and Roger Williams reflect the idea that “learning is a social endeavor as well as a cognitive one,” says Jill Reich, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty.

The new spaces reflect the idea that “learning is a social endeavor as well as a cognitive one,” says Jill Reich, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty

To that end, “a significant amount of space is dedicated to creating opportunities for faculty and students to get together informally,” says Tracy Kozak of the design firm JSA, and will feature a neat integration of classrooms, lounges, thesis rooms,  faculty offices, and common spaces.
In terms of the Bates campus landscape, the Hedge / Roger Williams project helps define the area bounded by Alumni Walk, Pettengill Hall, New Commons and Garcelon Field. Specifically, the project reorients each building more toward Alumni Walk, fills out the landscape around New Commons and brings coherence to the circulation pattern in this emerging campus crossroads.