The project transformed the 34,300 square foot, 80-year-old heritage building at the core of the campus into a technologically advanced facility to house its Theatre Arts and Summer Repertory Theatre programs. The expanded main entry terrace and lobby welcome the public into a bright and contemporary space. The existing shallow-sloped main auditorium was completely reconfigured to provide tiered seating for 400 with superior sight lines. Floor levels and circulation paths were altered substantially to significantly improve accessibility for both students and audience members. Major upgrades to building systems, stage rigging, acoustics, and theatre technology enhance experience and learning opportunities. A new 200-seat multipurpose addition was constructed to serve campus instructional needs as a lecture classroom and act as a “black box” studio theater and rehearsal venue.
The building provides an important connection between the college and the community. Locating the new addition between the existing structure and adjacent to the music department creates an active social space for students and visitors to gather before and after performances.
Bio Mark Cavagnero Associates is a San Francisco-based architecture firm built on a foundation of serving civic, cultural and institutional clients. We approach each project with a focus on the immediate and greater community it will serve. The firm has completed a wide range of architectural and master planning projects based on this ideal, including large and small scale institutional, non-profit, and commercial projects. The firm provides a full range of services, from programming, master planning, site planning and conceptual design, through construction documents and administration.
Other prizes In addition to being well-received by users and the community, our work has garnered more than 100 design awards from local, state, national and international organizations. Mark Cavagnero Associates Architects was honored with the AIA California Council’s 2012 Firm of the Year Award, the highest honor that the organization bestows upon a firm, recognizing distinguished architecture and a culture of mentoring the next generation of architects. The firm ranks in Architect magazine’s 2015 The Architect 50, the ranking of the top 50 architectural firms in the country. Mark Cavagnero was personally honored with the AIA California Council’s 2015 Maybeck Award, a lifetime achievement award often referred to as the “Gold Medal of California.” In every project we design we strive for logic, strength, functional excellence, clarity, sustainability, economical use of materials, and, of course, beauty. Ultimately, the challenge of our work is to build something that authentically represents our core values and innate beliefs: fairness, stability, strength, and openness.
