Mountain View, Calif.
Mark Cavagnero Associates

Photography © Tim Griffith

A school's new home succeeds in its "arts for all" mission

"A beautifully cast-in-place concrete structure using natural materials creates a very successful sense of place." —Frances Huppert, FAIA Architect Mark Cavagnero Associates www.cavagnero.com Client Community School of Music and Arts Key players Western Investment Management (project manager); Murphy Barr Curry (structural); C&B Consulting Engineers (m/e/p); Stephen Wheeler Landscape Architects (landscape); Charles Salter Associates (acoustical) Read more Building Types Study, Schools K�|12 [March 2004]

Program: For 30 years, this arts education organization, the largest of its kind in the region, was housed in six temporary structures. Seeking to reach more members of the community and improve its quality, the client desired a permanent home. The new building needed to be functional and inspirational. Programmatically, it required acoustical efficiency and a flexible plan. Formally, it desired to embrace the community and encourage all forms of art.

Solution: The architect designed the new school as a low building planned around a courtyard. Sloping roofs provide a sense of openness and facilitate acoustic integrity, and clerestory windows flood the building with light. Built of poured-in-place concrete, the building minimizes noise from nearby highways, while wood infill gives it warmth. Before, the school turned away students because of lack of space; now it offers twice the space of its previous home and is conveniently located near public transportation. With 17 state-of-the-art private studios, numerous classrooms, a ceramics studio, exterior performance space, and a 200-seat concert hall, the school's student body, faculty, and programs have all increased.

For more images please see the November 2004 issue or Architectural Record.
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Browse the Projects

The Winners: Limerick County Hall | Britomart Transport Centre | Ehime Prefectural Budokan | Humane Society/SPCA of San Antonio and Bexar County | James M. Wood Comm. Cntr. | Finn Center, Community School of Music and Arts | Fisher Pavilion at Seattle Center | MoMA QNS | Iron Studio, Penland School | Israeli Foreign Ministry

The Finalists: Quintessa Winery | FDNY Fire Zone | University Health Network/ Toronto Hospita | General Mills, World Headquarters | Hotel Monaco (Tariff Building) | Marion Oliver McCaw Hall | Ford Rouge Center | San Francisco Ferry Building | Brentwood Skytrain Station

Editors' Choice: Satellite Operations Facility & Administrative Offices | Montclair Lofts

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