This project, which wins an AIA Santa Clara Valley Chapter and a CASH Honor design award, consists of a 600-seat music and dramatic theater and performing arts classrooms. The site is a long and narrow former parking lot running north-south at the back of the sports stadium, which is next to the main entrance to the school. The client desires a visually exciting building to provide a new street image for the campus, as well as an environmentally responsive facility.

The building is organized in 2 distinct parts to respond to its different constituencies. The theater is located at the south end of the building, farthest from the main part of the campus to accommodate both the school and the public. Theatrical facilities are housed in a single sloping block, with the stage at the higher end to accommodate its fly loft. The entire exterior of the block is clad with blue metal siding to tie with other buildings on campus. The sloped roof supports an array of photo-voltaic solar panels, generating a large portion of the campus’ power needs.

Classrooms occupy a long two-story block on the campus side. Its sloped roof is interrupted at 2 places to provide a second level open art court as well as to bring natural light to both the second and first levels.

The building’s main entrance, reached through an intervening courtyard, faces the street but angled toward the main campus. An added feature of the building is an observation space, which cantilevers above the stadium bleachers to provide a wheelchair accessible press box for sports events.

 

“AEDIS understands New Haven and how we want our buildings to look and how we want to maintain them. We have a high school built for 4,000 students that we affectionately refer as the Winchester Mystery House, and they’ve helped us with the master plan, matching new buildings to old buildings, and it has turned out beautifully.”

Carol Gregorich
Chief Business Officer
New Haven Unified School District