DESIGN
DIAMOND SCHMITT ARCHITECTS
Beating heart
The Buddy Holly Hall of Performing Arts & Sciences will be a center
of culture with arms open to a wide range of arts in Lubbock, Texas
Above: The exterior had to
offer shade from the elements
but feel welcoming and open
R ising from the West Texas plains
is a performing arts center unlike
anything else in southwest USA.
Named for the city of Lubbock’s
most famous son, Buddy Holly
Hall of Performing Arts & Sciences is designed
to activate a deep cultural engagement with its
community by creating versatile rooms that
can host a wide range of artistic and educational
pursuits. The facility is scheduled to open in
the second quarter of 2020.
“With Buddy Holly Hall, Lubbock is daring to
dream, to transform and improve opportunities
for its citizens and visitors through cultural
place making in a venue that will inspire future
generations,” says Matthew Lella, principal at
Diamond Schmitt Architects.
Rave on
The legacy of the namesake’s all too brief career,
and the influence he had on the likes of Paul
McCartney, Elton John and many others, will live
on in Lubbock. Partnerships with local arts
organizations, public schools and universities
saw the project expand from an initial 120,000ft2
(11,148m2) to 220,000ft2 (20,439m2). The
business model is focused on full integration
with the community and making the center
financially self-sustaining. “This is a world-class
facility in a city of 250,000 people, so multiple
stakeholders are involved, each with their own
spatial and acoustic requirements,” says Lella.
There will be two theaters, an events space,
a bistro and a ballet academy, all under one
roof. It will be home to the Lubbock Symphony
Orchestra and Ballet Lubbock, while the Lubbock
Independent School District will use a studio
theater. The venue will also support all manner
of traveling Broadway shows, rock shows and
events, with flexible configurations throughout.
The main 2,200-seat Helen Devitt Jones
Auditorium will have raked orchestra seating that
can become a fully flat surface, permitting either
a standing room/mosh pit option or a variety of
cabaret setups. The stage will also rise and lower
to extend this for uses as varied as a convention
112 AUDITORIA 2019 VOLUME ONE