DESIGN
Above: The line sets, with
performance draperies and
orchestra shell ceiling units
flown above
Top right: The multifunctional
hall seats 514 people
62 AUDITORIA 2019 VOLUME ONE
on-stage administration meetings and of course,
the school can use the theater for convocations,
graduations and all types of performing arts
events, including films. “The uses for all three
entities are unlimited, supported by the
state-of-the-art technology,” comments Fisher.
Environmental features
The CMU walls are designed to provide low
energy consumption performance with most of
the low-emissivity glazing facing north and sun
control louvers on the sparse glazing to the south
and west (not installed before the photoshoot).
All of the lighting, including the theatrical lights,
is LED, and the CMU is produced locally.
Although the district chose not to participate in
any sustainable program, the building meets the
criteria for a LEED Silver rating.
“The building is an imposing icon for the
arts and the school, which can be seen from a
mile away on the street that serves the entry to
the campus,” says Fisher. Visually, it dominates
the existing one-story buildings of a converted
middle school, but uses some of the same
color and material palette – CMU, glazing and
corrugated metal. On the campus’s south exit
corner, it sits at the end of the main parking lot,
across from the administration building and is
secured by fencing and gates, except at the main
lobby entrance for the public.
According to the district, the Performing Arts
Center is setting the standard for its educational
programs rather than fitting into an existing
program. The building can accommodate full
orchestra, choral performances, productions of
any type, displays of student and community art,
and the instruction of theatrical productions.
“The Performing Arts Center is not a
reflection of the community’s current state, but
rather an aspiration of what it can become,” says
Tom Pace, director of facilities planning and
development at John Sergio Fisher & Associates.
“The building is a reminder to the community
that it can choose to reach for the stars. Every
time the community thinks it has reached its
capacity to meet a challenge, it can look up at the
Performing Arts Center and be reminded that
this capacity may well be limitless.” n
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The theater will be in constant use by the
students and administration, as a major venue
for the community and visiting troupes.
Flexible design
There are company switches to enable the
community to bring in its own lighting and
sound systems for musical and theatrical
performances. The orchestra shell’s hard surfaces
provide early reflections to the audience,
enhancing the feeling of intimacy in musical
productions. The orchestra pit lift provides a
stage extension that the district can use for large,
MEETING OF MINDS
The programming and design were defined through a creative
problem-solving group. John Fisher, as the architect principal,
acted as a neutral facilitator, eliciting qualitative and
quantitative requirements and ideas from the stakeholders.
These included the director of facilities, principal, faculty,
students, maintenance and operations staff and the community.
Fisher took large notes on newsprint, hung them on the walls,
and repeated the process around the room until a consensus
was reached that fitted with the budget. Many plan and section
and 3D options were generated, and a final selection made from
them, unanimously, by the stakeholders.
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