PITTSBURGH THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
NAMES NEW RESIDENCE HALL
“CALIAN HALL”
The Pittsburgh Theological Seminary's new residence hall has been named to honor its recently retired president, Rev. Dr. Carnegie Samuel Calian.
The 48-room residence hall building was designed by Valentour English Bodnar & Howell, Registered Architects. It is the first new building completed in three decades on the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary campus and the latest project in client-architect relationship that has lasted more than 20 years.
Calian Hall occupies a highly visible site on the campus along busy Highland Avenue and becomes a component of the campus facade.
The new building was constructed immediately in front of Fisher Hall, as a replacement for the former dormitory, now demolished. The new building moved the face of the campus closer to Highland Avenue creating a design challenge in maintaining the look of the campus, an important goal of the Seminary. The challenge was successfully met with the use of the traditional style and building materials common to the campus and the former Fisher Hall.
The exterior gives the outward appearance of a conventional dormitory building and continues the traditional architectural style of the campus. The interior spaces provide modern infrastructure and are configured to meet the unique needs of the Seminary and its students and achieves the goal of providing a flexible residential building.
The rooms feature more formal appurtenances reflecting the graduate-level of the Seminary students. Traditional interior mouldings and trim, typical of other campus buildings provide an architectural link and create a more formal environment.
Each room is equipped with a private bathroom and the entire building is air-conditioned. A wire infrastructure provides data and video outlets in each room for computer and cable television. A common lounge and a study room are located on each of the three residential floors. A recreation and fitness area is located in the building's lowest level.