Hawken Announces Stirn Hall

In grateful appreciation of the generosity shown by the trustees of The Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation, Hawken School will name the Gates Mills academic building Stirn Hall in honor of Howard and Cara Smith Stirn. “We are so excited to be a part of this transformational renovation for Hawken’s Upper School campus,” said Ellen Stirn Mavec, Chairman and President of the Foundation. “What we found most profound about the project was the convergence of the architecture with the mission of the School.” The 1:1 challenge grant specifies that for every gift over $500 contributed to the Gates Mills Academic Building project, The Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation will match donations dollar for dollar up to $8 million.

 

Master plans with building renovations and expansions on the Gates Mills Campus have been discussed as far back as 1992. After recent feasibility studies and early contributions demonstrated that an expansion of the main academic building would become a reality, Hawken conducted a national competition and selected Cleveland-based Westlake Reed Leskosky as architects.

 

The plans for the signature building call for the demolition of approximately 30,000 square feet of space and a new 50,000-square-foot addition that will bring the anticipated square footage of the building to about 105,000 square feet.

 

The Gates Mills project will do more than replacing and renovating outmoded classroom facilities – it will equip Hawken's faculty with the physical space needed to execute the School's educational mission and serve generations of Hawken students for decades to come. 

• Teaching spaces will be utilized as laboratories for experiential, hands-on, participatory and group learning.
• The creation of new specialty spaces, including The Sydell and Arnold Miller Fabrication Laboratory, a Media Laboratory, Media Production Studio and a Screening Room, will further support Hawken’s innovative curriculum with the expansion of programs such as Entrepreneurship and Media Studies.
• The building will also include a new science wing to support Hawken’s commitment to science and to encourage the growth of independent scientific study options such as STEMM Pathways.
• There will also be open and flexible spaces for multidisciplinary collaboration and individual studying through the creation of a state-of-the-art Learning Commons that will house the Lucier Family Writing Center and the Learning Support Center.

An article heralding the project was written by the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Art and Architecture Critic Steven Litt.

 

Visit hawken.edu/stirnhall for more information and updates on the Gates Mills Building Initiative.