Education · Upper School · Coconut Grove

Ransom Everglades — Lewis Auditorium

We designed the theater’s new look in 3D, then built it over one summer, with the school watching every decision on screen first.

Before and after

Lewis Auditorium before the renovation: beige seats, worn carpet and a maroon balcony fascia — Lewis Auditorium in February, and in August after one summer: our carpet tile, stair nosings, maple balcony caps and wall finishes, with new seating from the school’s vendor.

Lewis Auditorium after the renovation: blue seating, light gray carpet tile and a navy balcony fascia with a maple cap — Lewis Auditorium in February, and in August after one summer: our carpet tile, stair nosings, maple balcony caps and wall finishes, with new seating from the school’s vendor.

Client: Ransom Everglades School
Room: Lewis Auditorium, Upper School
Location: 3575 Main Highway, Coconut Grove
Sector: Education
Schedule: On site June – August 2026
Key materials: Mohawk Color Balance carpet tile · Tarkett Johnsonite base and safety flooring · photoluminescent stair nosing · Guilford of Maine Anchorage 2335 Quarry Blue · Sherwin-Williams SW 7029 / SW 7075 · stained maple veneer

01 — The brief

A school theater works harder than most rooms: assemblies, performances, rehearsals, hundreds of students a week. Ransom Everglades wanted the Upper School’s Lewis Auditorium renewed without losing what makes it a performance space.

02 — The challenge

The room had to be finished between school years, with the school’s own electrician, AV integrator and seating vendor working in the same space. The scope also took in new wood on every balcony edge and an audio booth rebuilt around equipment still being fabricated, all finished before students came back.

Design decisions

ASee it first. A design presentation and 3D model let the school approve carpet, wood, stairs and acoustic fabric before anything was ordered.
BA quiet floor. Color Balance plank tile in a soft gray keeps the house calm and the stage in focus.
CLight the way down. Black nosings with a photoluminescent strip on every stair: cleaner, and the glow reads better in the dark.
DOne point of color. Quarry Blue acoustic walls absorb sound and give the room its color; two grays tie paint to the charcoal base.
EWarm wood, right-sized. Hand-stained maple veneer matched to the school’s sample on the balcony edges, instead of solid millwork.

03 — How we solved it

We started with a design presentation and a 3D model, so the school could see seating finishes, wood, carpet and stair details before ordering.

We rendered the balcony wood before it was built, and recommended painting the upper walls rather than adding more panels, since the back walls already carry the room’s acoustics.

When the specified nosing color couldn’t arrive in time, we kept the schedule with black photoluminescent nosings on every stair. Daily coordination with the school’s electrician kept the audio booth walls from being closed too early.

Scope

Floors	Existing carpet removed and the floor prepared across 5,248 sf. New Mohawk Color Balance 12" x 36" carpet tile, 340 lf of carpeted stairs, 360 lf of photoluminescent stair nosing, 956 lf of 4" vinyl base and 822 lf of transitions.
Acoustics	Red wall panels replaced with new acoustic panels in Guilford of Maine Anchorage 2335, Quarry Blue; beige upper panels removed and the walls patched and painted.
Wood	Stained maple veneer panels and trim on the 1st- and 2nd-floor balcony edges and front-row walls, refinished handrails, and a wood cornice at the audio booth.
Stage & booth	Stage platforms rebuilt in two layers; the audio booth rebuilt in steel stud and drywall.
Paint	6,966 sf of walls, 3,557 sf of accent walls, soffits and the upper bulkhead, stairs, 21 doors and frames, and 4,950 sf of painted floor.

Lewis Auditorium from the balcony: blue seating, gray carpet and maple-capped walls — The house from the balcony

Stairs with photoluminescent nosings between seating sections — Photoluminescent nosings on every stair

Stained maple veneer cap along the front-row wall — Stained maple veneer on the front-row wall

04 — The result

Finished in August 2026, ahead of the school year. A maroon-and-beige room became calm gray and blue, with warm stained wood and Quarry Blue acoustic walls.

A month later the school asked CIC to design the auditorium lobby.

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