The
newly inaugurated 50,000 sf. James Logan Center for the Performing Arts
consists of a 599-seat music / drama theater and performing arts classrooms.
The project’s success relies on its excellent use of a long and narrow site,
while bridging the needs of both campus students and the general public, and
its skillful placement of a massive structure very close to the street. The
project not only provides a top-tier theatrical venue for the Tri-City area,
but also transforms the main entrance to Logan High School with its expressive
and sculptural architecture.
The
building is organized into two distinct parts, with the instructional wing
facing the campus, and the theater pushed toward the street corner for greater
public access. The theater and supporting facilities are housed in a single
block, which slopes upward to accommodate the tall volume of the fly-loft at
its high end. The sloped roof was designed to support a future array of PV
panels that will generate a large portion of the campus’ power needs.
Daylighting is provided throughout the instructional, circulation and lobby
spaces.
Exterior
materials consist of blue steel panels atop a concrete masonry base for the
theater, contrasting white diagonal aluminum panels and plaster walls at the
instructional wing. A second-floor patio provides an outdoor music practice
area, and a new wheelchair-accessible press box cantilevers over the adjacent
stadium bleachers, providing an unimpeded view of the sports field.
Concrete
masonry units were chosen for the tall load bearing walls of the theater box
and included steel wide-flange beams partially encased within the walls for
stiffness. The material provides the
long-term durability required by the District while satisfying the aesthetics
desired by the architect. The masonry
units also qualified as a sustainable building product being produced locally
within the community.