Highland School Center for the Arts Addition

HSMM AECOM

HSMM AECOM

The design of the Center for the Arts creates a transition from the existing building to the addition while introducing new architectural elements to express the addition as an art center. Geometric elements such as the curved roof with ornamental brackets, circular entry piece, and serpentine curtain wall add visual interest to the existing rectilinear building. The angles of the auditorium are anchored by the solid rectangular stage that punctuates the theater´s soaring curved roof.


Additional Info:

Located on a sloped site, the Highland School Center for the Arts is a 22,000-SF, two-story addition to an existing one-story K-12 private school in Warrenton, Virginia. The topography of the site required the design of a two-story addition allowing the upper floor to be level with the existing school and creating the addition of a lower level. This allowed double height spaces such as the auditorium to fit within the context and scale of the existing school. HSMM AECOM designed the addition around a 400-seat auditorium/stage, which includes a black box theater and support spaces such as a stage shop for assembling scenery and props, dressing rooms, a green room and storage. The addition also includes music and drama classrooms on the lower level, visual art classrooms on the upper level, exhibit space, and a lobby that doubles as a dining area.


Materials:
Continuous split-faced concrete masonry unit (CMU) base emphasized by accent colors. Glass elements such as the circular lobby serve as connections between architectural forms. The roughness of the masonry contrasts with more refined materials such as the cherry wood used to accentuate the theater space.
Private School: Highland School | Warrenton, VA
Photos:

Joe Harrigan