Bamboo

VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, EARLHAM COLLEGE

  • Location
    Richmond, IN
  • LEED Rating Gold
  • Owner
    Earlham College
  • Architect
    Boora Architects
  • Completed
    2014

This new 47,000 sq. ft. building is a state-of-the-art resource center for Earlham College’s Visual and Performing Arts Department. Located on the college’s South campus, the new facility is comprised of two main performance facilities that are located in the center of the building, a 480 seat concert venue with moveable tiered seating, and a new black box theater. The two theaters are surrounded by support spaces, including a green room, individual practice rooms, as well as jazz and gamelan classrooms, dressing rooms, and storage spaces.

For visual and music arts, specific programmatic elements provide designated areas for ceramics, metals, drawing, painting, and photography, including a dark room. Music rooms for sound consist of voice, editing, and recording studios. Additionally, the building includes classrooms, faculty offices, storage for the college’s art, and common areas.

dbHMS led the design and coordination of all new MEP/FP systems for this building, ensuring that all heating, cooling, electrical, plumbing and fire protection requirements in the building were met. The building has achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED©) Gold level certification and followed best practices for sustainability in the design of this facility.