Page 24 - School Planning & Management, April 2018

Building Blueprints \{ FACILITIES IN FOCUS \}
Ultimate Flexibility
DESIGNING SPACES TO SUPPORT STUDENT AND COMMUNITY PERFORMING ARTS. by Tina Stanislaski, AIA, LEED-AP
IN THE COASTAL TOWN of Winthrop, Massachusetts, the audi- torium of a new middle/high school
is a bustling year-round venue. It hosts an ever-changing variety of student and com- munity productions—cho-
ral groups, musical theater,
band recitals, film series, and civic meetings.
The challenge Winthrop school admin- istrators confronted when planning this important space is a familiar one. How do we achieve the ideal flexibility necessary to accommodate such a wide range of potential uses? Coupled with that question is a valid concern that too much accommodation
will compromise every audience experience while inflating complexity and cost.
Program Setting
A thorough programing initiative to as- sess current and future needs is the first step in solving this dilemma. We gather the vari- ous user groups together to understand how
the space will be used and whether other spaces in the school can be used to meet some of the identified needs.
Each type of performance requires special criteria and different architec- tural and acoustical accommodation. For example, a space used for speech and film has a distinctively different need than for a musical performance.
Reverberation, measured as the length of time sound travels through the audito- rium, needs to be low for speech, film, and
theatrical performances so that words can be heard clearly. For these uses, additional sound-absorption design and materi-
als are needed to contain reverberation. Conversely, too much absorption in a space used for music will distort the musical quality because a higher, more persistent reverberation is needed to “bounce” the sound back to the audience and to other musicians on stage.
A Balanced Design
In most high schools, the auditorium performance space is a truly multipurpose venue. To succeed, the design will need to easily adapt to all types of activities. The shape and size of the auditorium is a key consideration.
24 SCHOOL PLANNING & MANAGEMENT / APRIL 2018
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AUDITORIUMS/ PERFORMING ARTS
PHOTO © ED WONSEK