Middletown, CT Designed as a new hub for artistic expression and collaboration, Bruner/Cott’s 18,700 s/f Integrative Arts Lab is now under construction at Wesleyan University.

Building on its award-winning heritage of reimagining historical structures for new uses, the firm is converting a former Mohawk Manufacturing Company building located midway between Wesleyan’s main campus and downtown Middletown for this purpose. Situated at the corner of Hamlin and College Sts. and occupied by a series of previous tenants, the oldest structure on the site was constructed in 1850, with an addition built in 1922.

The new lab will be a social hub that encourages community, collaboration, and conversation. Spaces within will be arranged to support students and encourage interdisciplinary work. The program includes those for visual and performing arts, as well as maker spaces and a flexible arts commons. Contemporary additions to the existing T-shape complex will expand the capabilities of the new facility, blending old and new.

The project will reinforce Wesleyan’s commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility; meeting goals that prioritize conserving resources and limiting embodied carbon through building reuse; and include measures to ensure occupancy health and wellness.