Miller Hall, Yale University
Apicella + Bunton was selected to renovate a spacious 1903 Tudor Revival house at 406 Prospect Street, and transformed it into a new home for the Yale Institute of Sacred Music.
The Institute for Sacred Music (ISM) is a thriving and innovative graduate center focused on the interdisciplinary study of religion, music, and the arts. Apicella + Bunton worked closely with University facilities and ISM faculty and staff to reimagine Miller Hall as a working academic building with a welcoming domestic character.
Miller Hall was originally designed as a private residence by noted architect and Yale alumnus Grosvenor Atterbury. It was donated to Yale in 1949 by the Burton P. Twichell family and served as housing for international graduate students for many years. Apicella + Bunton embraced the building’s original architecture, celebrating its rich character and integrity while repurposing the original single family residence into a vibrant learning community suitable for 100 scholars.
Apicella + Bunton restored Miller Hall’s original design elements, including trim and millwork, fireplace mantels, diamond lattice windows, and original wood floors. To modernize the building, the firm overhauled its environmental systems and lighting, renovated an existing stair, and designed a rear addition for an elevator and new egress stair.
Tucked away within Yale’s Divinity School, the ISM longed for a place they could call home and a place where they could more fully express their identity. Apicella + Bunton worked closely with staff and faculty to create warm, inviting, and light-filled spaces that express the accessible spirit and interdisciplinary values of the program and the ISM family.
Yale Alumni Magazine, “A New Home for the Institute of Sacred Music”
Yale ISM News, “Restored ISM Building Will be Named for Benefactors”
Photographs © Christopher Gardner