In Worcester, Mass., a one-hour drive from Boston, the College of the Holy Cross has completed its $110 million Prior Performing Arts Center. Designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R), the 84,000-square-foot facility serves as an incubator for multidisciplinary learning and creativity, with venues for both fine arts and performing arts. The PAC will support creative collaboration among faculty and students across all academic disciplines.
Among the PAC’s key features, the Beehive is a flexible space that includes a shared multimedia teaching area for electronic music and musical composition courses, sound recording, sound editing, and video and film editing. The Beehive also provides collaborative workspaces, multipurpose rehearsal spaces, a cafe, and gathering spaces with movable furniture.
The Luth Concert Hall, a 400-seat convertible concert hall and proscenium theater, serves as the College’s principal venue for symphonic music, chamber music, jazz, gamelan, and opera, as well as musical theater and dance. The Boroughs Theatre is a 200-seat, fully flexible experimental theater space. And the Cantor Art Gallery offers a variety of interdisciplinary exhibits and increased exhibition and storage space.
Support spaces include a scene shop, costume design studio, recording studio, lighting and set design study, and multi-use spaces to encourage collaboration among the arts and between the arts and other disciplines. Outdoor amenities include a small amphitheater, an outdoor teaching area and workspace, a meditative garden, and a sculpture garden.
Major inaugural performances at the PAC will take place in December, including the world premiere of a new violin concerto composed by a College of the Holy Cross professor.
On the Building Team:
Owner: College of the Holy Cross
Executive architect: Perry Dean Rogers
Landscape architect: OLIN
Civil engineer: Nitsch Engineering
MEP engineer: Altieri Sebor Wieber
Structural engineer: Robert Silman Associates
Related Stories
Modular Building | Jun 10, 2015
London debuts business complex made from 50 shipping containers
London's newest business complex, Pop Brixton, will support local entrepreneurs, create jobs, and is made entirely of shipping containers.
Building Team Awards | Apr 10, 2015
14 projects that push AEC teaming to the limits
From Lean construction to tri-party IPD to advanced BIM/VDC coordination, these 14 Building Teams demonstrate the power of collaboration in delivering award-winning buildings. These are the 2015 Building Team Award winners.
Building Team Awards | Apr 10, 2015
New arts venue reinvigorates Virginia Tech's campus
The STV-led Building Team creates a world-class performance and arts venue with learning and entrepreneurial dimensions.
Retail Centers | Mar 10, 2015
Retrofit projects give dying malls new purpose
Approximately one-third of the country’s 1,200 enclosed malls are dead or dying. The good news is that a sizable portion of that building stock is being repurposed.
Architects | Feb 27, 2015
5 finalists announced for 2015 Mies van der Rohe Award
Bjarke Ingels' Danish Maritime Museum and the Ravensburg Art Museum by Lederer Ragnarsdóttir Oei are among the five projects vying for the award.
Cultural Facilities | Feb 20, 2015
‘Floating’ park on New York’s Hudson River moves one step closer to reality
The developers envision the 2.4-acre space as a major performance arts venue.
| Jan 17, 2015
When is a train station not a train station? When it’s a performance venue
You can catch a train at Minneapolis’s new Target Field Station. You can also share in an experience. That’s what ‘Open Transit’ is all about.
| Jan 2, 2015
Construction put in place enjoyed healthy gains in 2014
Construction consultant FMI foresees—with some caveats—continuing growth in the office, lodging, and manufacturing sectors. But funding uncertainties raise red flags in education and healthcare.
| Dec 28, 2014
AIA course: Enhancing interior comfort while improving overall building efficacy
Providing more comfortable conditions to building occupants has become a top priority in today’s interior designs. This course is worth 1.0 AIA LU/HSW.
| Nov 26, 2014
USITT Selects Bahrain National Theatre for Honor Award
The Bahrain National Theatre will be recognized with an Honor Award by the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) in 2015.
