Seabury Hall Creative Arts Center, a prep-school performing arts center on Maui in Hawaii, received the United States Institute for Theatre Technology's (USITT) highest architecture award—the Honor Award.
Three other venues—the SF Jazz Center, Bing Concert Hall, and Jerome Robbins Theater—received Merit Awards for 2014.
USITT's Architecture Commission presented the awards in a special session on March 28 at the USITT 2014 Annual Conference & Stage Expo in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Architecture Commission annually recognizes the best contemporary performance spaces built or renovated in recent years with Honor or Merit awards.
The Seabury Hall Creative Arts Center was designed by Flansburgh Architects, Boston, with associate architect Riecke Sunnland Kono Architects Ltd. of Kahului, Hawaii, and theatre consulting by Theatre Projects Consultants, South Norwalk, Conn.
Bing Concert Hall, Stanford University. Photo: Jeff-Goldberg/Esto
The $5.4 million arts center replaced an outdated facility with a new 500-seat theater and dance rehearsal hall on the grounds of Seabury Hall, a college preparatory school for performing arts students set on the high slopes of the Haleakala volcano on East Maui.
The architects used a steel shed structure for the theater, with wide barn doors that open the space to the natural environment overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The pre-fabricated construction of the theater and dance rehearsal pavilion kept the cost low. The project was completed in September 2012.
Two of the Merit winners are California projects—the SF Jazz Center in San Francisco and the Bing Concert Hall at Stanford University. The third is the renovation of a former rental roadhouse at the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York into the Jerome Robbins Theater.
The $75 million Bing Concert Hall was designed by Ennead Architects, New York, with theater consulting by Fisher Dachs and acoustical consulting by Nagata Acoustics. It was constructed at a cost of $75 million as the new home to the university's music department and a venue for visiting performers serving the greater San Francisco Bay Area community.
SF Jazz Center, San Francisco. Photo: Tim Griffiths
The SF Jazz Center was designed by Mark Cavagnero Associates, San Francisco, with consulting by Auerbach Pollock Friedlander and SIA Acoustics, at a cost of $32 million. It is the first freestanding venue in the United States designed especially for jazz. The three-story center is comprised of the Robert N. Miner Auditorium, which accommodates 350 to 800 seats, plus a lab, rehearsal space, box office, café, and offices.
The Jerome Robbins Theater at the Baryshnikov was formerly known as Theatre C, and is now a 299-seat, end-stage theater and main performance space completed in 2010. The architect was Wasa/Studio A, with Arup/David Taylor as theatre and acoustical consultant.
USITT's Architecture Awards are chosen based on creativity, contextual resonance, functional operation, use of new technology, and community contribution. Each project will be represented in a special exhibit at Stage Expo, where an awards reception will be held.
The adjudicators for the 2014 awards included architect Buzz Yudell of Moore Ruble Yudell Architects, theater consultant Robert Long of Theatre Consultants Collaborative, and Rick Talaske of Talaske Associates. Architecture Commission Vice-Chair William Murray oversaw the adjudication process.
Jerome Robbins Theater, New York. Photo: courtesy JRT
Related Stories
K-12 Schools | Sep 30, 2024
The importance of selecting healthy materials for K-12 projects
Clark Nexsen interior designers Anna Claire Beethoven and Brittney Just, CID, IIDA, LEED Green Associate, share why it is imperative to specify healthy building materials in K-12 schools.
Education Facilities | Sep 16, 2024
Hot classrooms, playgrounds spur K-12 school districts to go beyond AC for cooling
With hotter weather occurring during the school year, school districts are turning to cooling strategies to complement air conditioning. Reflective playgrounds and roads, cool roofs and window films, shade structures and conversion of asphalt surfaces to a natural state are all being tried in various regions of the country.
K-12 Schools | Aug 29, 2024
Designing for dyslexia: How architecture can address neurodiversity in K-12 schools
Architects play a critical role in designing school environments that support students with learning differences, particularly dyslexia, by enhancing social and emotional competence and physical comfort. Effective design principles not only benefit students with dyslexia but also improve the learning experience for all students and faculty. This article explores how key design strategies at the campus, classroom, and individual levels can foster confidence, comfort, and resilience, thereby optimizing educational outcomes for students with dyslexia and other learning differences.
K-12 Schools | Aug 26, 2024
Windows in K-12 classrooms provide opportunities, not distractions
On a knee-jerk level, a window seems like a built-in distraction, guaranteed to promote wandering minds in any classroom or workspace. Yet, a steady stream of studies has found the opposite to be true.
K-12 Schools | Aug 8, 2024
New K-12 STEM center hosts robotics learning, competitions in Houston suburb
A new K-12 STEM Center in a Houston suburb is the venue for robotics learning and competitions along with education about other STEM subjects. An unused storage building was transformed into a lively space for students to immerse themselves in STEM subjects. Located in Texas City, the ISD Marathon STEM and Robotics Center is the first of its kind in the district.
Smart Buildings | Jul 25, 2024
A Swiss startup devises an intelligent photovoltaic façade that tracks and moves with the sun
Zurich Soft Robotics says Solskin can reduce building energy consumption by up to 80% while producing up to 40% more electricity than comparable façade systems.
K-12 Schools | Jul 15, 2024
A Cleveland suburb opens a $31.7 million new middle school and renovated high school
Accommodating 1,283 students in grades 6-12, the Warrensville, Ohio school complex features flexible learning environments and offers programs ranging from culinary arts and firefighting training to e-sports.
K-12 Schools | Jul 1, 2024
New guidelines for securing schools and community spaces released by the Door Security and Safety Foundation
The Door Security and Safety Foundation (DSSF), in collaboration with Door and Hardware Institute (DHI), recently released of “Are Your Door Openings Secure?.” The document provides guidelines to equip school administrators, building management personnel, and community leaders with a clear roadmap to create a secure and safe environment.
Senior Living Design | Jun 28, 2024
The country’s largest retirement community expands with educational facilities
The project will include a high school, a K-8 school, and an Early Learning Center aimed at serving the children of residents who work in qualified businesses within The Villages.
K-12 Schools | May 30, 2024
Inclusive design strategies to transform learning spaces
Students with disabilities and those experiencing mental health and behavioral conditions represent a group of the most vulnerable students at risk for failing to connect educationally and socially. Educators and school districts are struggling to accommodate all of these nuanced and, at times, overlapping conditions.
