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Cali School of Music (Exterior)
Cali School of Music (Exterior)
Cali School of Music (Exterior)
Cali School of Music (Exterior)
Cali School of Music (Exterior)
Cali School of Music (Exterior)
Cali School of Music (Interior)
Cali School of Music (Interior)
Cali School of Music (Interior)
Cali School of Music (Interior)
Cali School of Music (Interior)
Cali School of Music (Interior)
Cali School of Music (Interior)
Cali School of Music (Interior)
Cali School of Music (Interior)
Cali School of Music (Rendering)
Cali School of Music (Rendering)
Cali School of Music (Plan)
Cali School of Music (Exterior)

CALI SCHOOL OF MUSIC

Montclair, NJ

Client: Montclair State University
Architect of Record: RMJM Hillier

My Role: Owner, University Architect
Project Area: 52,000SF

​Contractor: Brockwell & Carrington

Photographer: Mike Peters

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Project Description:

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The John J. Cali School of Music is an adaptive re-use project that transforms a former dormitory and classroom building into a state-of-the-art teaching, practice and performance facility, and creates a new “gateway” building for the campus.

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Built in 1928 in the Spanish Mission Style, the building originally known as Chapin Hall served as a dormitory until a later renovation transformed it into a classroom and departmental office facility. In 2005, the University commissioned RMJM Hillier Architecture to renovate and expand the original structure to establish a new home for the John J. Cali School of Music.

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The program calls for a 250-seat recital hall; teaching studios; music practice and rehearsal rooms; and faculty offices.

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To accommodate the program, the design proposes a new 23,000-square-foot, 2-story addition to the original 5-story, 29,000-square-foot structure, for a total of 52,000 square feet. The need for superior acoustics required the design team to overcome several challenges posed by the building’s existing tight floor-to-floor heights and older mechanical systems. Practice rooms and teaching studios are designed as a “box within a box” for acoustic isolation from other rooms. Innovative HVAC design accommodates the low floor-to-floor height (9’8”) of the building for superior soundproofing and optimal humidity and temperature control.

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Exterior renovations to the building reorient the main entrance to face College Avenue, a major thoroughfare on campus, rather than the quadrangle, where the original entry was located. The new façade offers a picturesque interpretation of the original Spanish Mission Style and provides a formal gateway to the campus.

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