Jackson spoke during the ceremony about EMPAC’s role at RPI. She said, “Today at the turn of the twenty first century, our campus expands again to meet the needs of the changing world.”

Various people spoke at the ceremony including Congressman Michael McNulty; Andrew Whalley of Nicholas Grimshaw & Partners, the design architect; and J. Max Bond Jr. of Davis Brody Bond, the architects of record. John Tichy, chair of the task force for EMPAC, as well as other members of the task force, also spoke.

Johannes Goebel, director of EMPAC, spoke of how it will offer the best facilities to explore digital media. He explained that the building will be conducive to expressing emotions as EMPAC is an isolated space from the outside world. The maximum noise level in any room will be approximately 15 decibels, as loud as a whisper. He said, “We can open ourselves best when we are in a protected environment.”

After the speakers concluded their speeches, the participants went outside to officially “break ground” with their shovels. A spray paint outline of the building was visible where EMPAC will be built, along with balloons showing how high the center will stand when complete. This ceremony was followed by a luncheon.

EMPAC will be a state of the art building containing a 1200-seat concert hall, a 400-seat theater, a 3500- and 2500-square-foot studio, a 1400-square-foot rehearsal studio, and professional level post production facilities for audio and video. Every theater and studio will be isolated from the rest of the building so that no sound will travel from one studio or theater to another.

As EMPAC is not a school or department, faculty will not occupy the space. Goebel says that the facilities will be used for project based activities and there will not be regular classes held there. Artists, faculty, and students will be able to use the space for their projects. It is an “opportunity for students to work on projects with people they have never collaborated with,” Goebel said.

Dr. Jackson says that since the center has not yet been built, it is difficult to know how the center will be used differently by graduates and undergraduates. However, EMPAC gives room for new curriculums to be formed.

There have been no functional changes since the conception of the building, however the plans constantly undergo refinement. For example, the theater is currently placed facing the opposite direction as originally planned so that the fly towers will not be buried in the hill. Changing the orientation will allow for easier construction of the foundation, as the hill EMPAC sits on will not have to be dug into so heavily, thus saving costs. The roof will also be raised so that people cannot walk on top, as was originally planned.

The project has finished the schematic design stage and is now moving into the detailed design phase. This stage consists of choosing finishes, walls, and floors as well as determining the appearance of the building’s exterior.

Goebel said, “This is an extremely well planned building because we could mull through the details again and again.”