The Sextant Group Honored for Renovation of Historic
Hall Built by Andrew Carnegie

Pittsburgh, PA, May 27, 2003—The Sextant Group, Inc. has received the Historic Preservation Award from the City of Pittsburgh Historic Review Commission for acoustic renovation of Carnegie Mellon University’s Alumni Recital Hall. In bestowing the honor on The Sextant Group, the Historic Review Commission recognized The Sextant Group’s balance of modern developments in acoustical science with the traditions and heritage of one of CMU’s oldest and finest
campus buildings.

The historic venue was originally built by Andrew Carnegie as an art gallery and remodeled years ago as a concert/rehearsal space for the college’s world- renowned College of Fine Arts and its symphony orchestra. Plagued by acoustical problems since a 1960’s era renovation, the hall suffered from massive sound reflection that greatly restricted its use. The Sextant Group’s innovative solution involved custom design of structures that would not only solve those problems and bestow new acoustic value to the room, but also restore and enhance the visual aesthetic of the original gallery’s performance space.

In speaking of the renovation, Alan Fletcher, head of Carnegie Mellon School of Music, says, "The Sextant Group transformed what was unusable space into one of the most sought-after rooms on campus. The hall was an absolutely poor acoustic space before renovation and virtually unusable, even for rehearsals.
Now it is the first choice for master classes and recitals. The Alumni Hall is now central to the CMU music ensemble program, and a favorite location on campus."

Fletcher further comments "The Sextant Group was absolutely first rate. Not only were they wonderful listeners and completely responsive to what we needed, but were proactive and creative in recommendations. All together, a very
happy experience."

The work was performed directly for Carnegie Mellon University, in close cooperation with Tom Stephenson of Landmark Design Associates. The Sextant Group also designed Carnegie Mellon’s music engineering recording studio for the College of Fine Arts.

In addition, the design firm is responsible for a number of distinctive places of assembly and performance, including: the Phoenix Municipal Stadium in Phoenix AZ; the award-winning Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s Harris Theatre in Pittsburgh; the 300-seat Kean Theatre for the St. Barnabas Health System, Gibsonia PA; and the Robeson Center Digital Theatre for The Pennsylvania State University in University Park PA.