The challenge of this project was to renovate a dysfunctional, 50 year old, 800 seat, technologically antiquated Auditorium into an intimate 430 seat performance venue with a focus on energy efficiency and student learning. Roof replacement, structural improvements, HVAC, and other acoustic improvements in the Auditorium to reduce infiltration by airplane noise are included in the renovation project. The technical challenges of this project were mostly structural and working within the confines of the existing walls and roofline.
Key challenges as they applied to the learning space were
• to provide needed dressing rooms, prop construction and storage space within the existing footprint and envelope
• to create a performance space that also works as a learning space, and
• to design a performance space that would bring the actors and their audiences closer together.

This High School’s Performing Arts Theater attracts a wide audience from the surrounding suburban communities. The Auditorium is the largest meeting-type space in the community and is used heavily by community groups such as the library, park district and villages as well as for dance recitals and concerts by students and other traveling community groups. The school planned a facility to meet the needs of all these agencies, as well as providing a learning space for all students, especially drama and music.

A technology feature to facilitate community use is that the Building & Grounds Director can turn on and off or adjust the mechanical system to accommodate various groups using the space with a touch of his iPhone.

The auditorium is a great educational tool and also shows both the school and outside community that energy efficient lighting can be both functional and beautiful. Besides slashing energy costs, using LED theatrical and house lights gives student crew and performers lighting quality and options they haven’t had in the past. For example, changing color on the old tungsten-halogen, mercury vapor and incandescent instruments required lowering those instruments to working height, or maneuvering around on a 50 year old, catwalk system that was not designed for student use, to switch out one or more color gel frames, which had to be prepared in advance. That process took fair amount of time, so it was impossible to create varied color effects in mid-production. Upgrades like this along with the use of the most current LED theatrical lights and a catwalk system, follow spot and house mix position that is designed for student use will enable the School to provide state of the art, hands-on learning experiences, perfectly suited to sequential and kinesthetic learners.

The auditorium was designed to meet the needs of a Performing Arts Program that strives to expose students to a variety of instructional methods. The Auditorium seats selected provide an optional tabletop surface. This opens the space for use during school-wide exams and versatile group learning sessions, plus it provides Performing Arts instructors a station where activities such as reading music or scripts occur to accommodate visual learning styles, while writing activities prompt reflective learners to consider a topic. Naturally, verbal and kinesthetic learners will have many opportunities to express themselves and create both on-stage and behind the scenes.

The design resulted in moving the entire stage out into the seating area, condensing the capacity but creating a great location for new prop construction, storage and dressing rooms. In order to accomplish this, the entire rake and floor were rebuilt.
New raised tech decks and calipers flank the stage, allowing the actors and/or music ensembles to encircle the audience and draw them into the performance experience. The configuration of the stage, with the side calipers, provides a smooth continuous flow of students from the Stage back to their seats during award presentations.

The High School has made becoming a green, sustainable, and energy efficient campus a priority. The school has taken many steps to improve the energy efficiency of the building's systems and to update the fifty-year-old facility to meet the demands of a 21st century comprehensive high school educational program.
This High School now has one of the first all-LED illuminated performing arts center in the country.

The theater did not have a safe, student accessible catwalk system so the existing structure had to be reinforced to provide a catwalk system that could be utilized as a learning opportunity for students and also to support the loads of an updated theatrical lighting rigging system.

In addition, during the course of construction, several existing structural deficiencies were discovered. Columns that were illustrated on existing As-Built drawings were not located in the wall, requiring the wall to be reinforced to meet current building codes and wind loads. A steel deck replacement enabled the solution of installing additional steel joists to provide additional reinforcement.