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Houston, TX — During an evening filled with performances from the departments of music, theater and dance, Sam Houston State University (SHSU) in Huntsville, Texas officially opened its new James and Nancy Gaertner Performing Arts Center on September 30, 2010. Designed by WHR Architects, the building is the centerpiece project for a comprehensive performing arts complex on the campus. One of the fastest growing universities in Texas, SHSU has a national reputation for its strong theater, music and dance curriculum. With the arrival of the new center, the campus has a facility commensurate with its reputation.
“We have the best performing arts programs in this part of the state. Now we have a facility reflective of that,” said Dana Nicolay, professor of dance and Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “I think it’s the best venue in the state for aspiring dancers, actors, musicians, directors, conductors, composers, and for top-notch professional performers.”
WHR had worked with SHSU for a number of years, completing several projects including the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Chemistry and Forensic Sciences Building, when the university engaged them as the architects for the performing arts center. “Although we knew the campus well and had a good working relationship with the school, the opportunity to create such a pivotal building for the arts was an honor,” says WHR Prinicipal Marie Hoke, AIA, who led the design team. “And a challenge, because Nicolay wanted an aspirational building that would give a distinctive identity to the departments and literally set the stage for the future of the College of Fine Arts.”
Located on a constrained site between the Music building and University Theater Center, the 101,945 square foot center serves as a physical link to the existing buildings and creates distinct identities for each of the departments within the new facility. The multi-use program includes an 787-seat concert hall, 182-seat recital hall and 160-seat dance theater as well as dance and theater studios, a classroom, body-conditioning room, costume shop, scenery shop and offices.
The bold architecture breaks apart the traditional rectilinear building forms of the campus with its tall sloped roofs over the concert hall and dance theater and dance studios that cantilever from the second floor, giving them a dramatic presence on the north side of the building. On the façade, bronze metal panels connect visually to the metal cladding found on the existing theater center. The use of the Sam Houston blend brick, burnished block and cast stone accents reference SHSU’s material vocabulary and tie the center to the architectural fabric of the campus.
In the performance hall, warm wood paneling lines the stage, the fronts of the boxes and wooden panels appear to float from the ceiling, which lends a sense of being ‘inside the instruments,’ while the 50-foot high ceiling volume helps provide reverberant sound. A rich palette of blues offset with white completes the sophisticated interior of the hall.
Wood paneling extends to the spacious 7,000 square foot central lobby that, positioned between the dance and music departments, is designed to serve multiple performances simultaneously. The lobby links directly to an outdoor performance area, terraced to accommodate the steep grade change. Together, the space provides a showcase for the arts, including a commissioned sculpture by noted artist James Surls, and offers a gathering space for students and visitors.
“Working with Sam Houston’s faculty and administration over the years, we know how committed they are to providing their students with the finest education and to making certain they have the facilities they need to accomplish that,” says WHR President and Chairman David Watkins, FAIA “WHR is proud to be a part of creating this important new building for their fine arts program.”
Among WHR recent and current projects: University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Research Park Complex, Behavioral and Biomedical Sciences Building; Stephen F. Austin State University Richard and Lucille DeWitt School of Nursing in Nacogdoches; Texas A&M University at Galveston, Ocean and Coastal Studies Building in Galveston; University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler; and University of North Texas, Music Building Concert Hall in Denton.
WHR Architects is a full service architecture, interior design and technology planning firm. The firm’s commitment to critical thinking is balanced by an ingrained empathy that results in both improved project outcomes and positive working experiences for their clients. With over 150 people in Houston and Dallas, Texas, Washington DC and Lake Como, New Jersey, the 30-year-old firm is working on projects throughout the US for top–tier public and private education and medical institutions. WHR was named the 2008 AIA Houston Firm of the Year and 2010 IIDA Texas/Oklahoma Chapter Firm of the Year.
For more information visit www.whrarchitects.com
Project Team
• Owner – Texas State University System
• Architect & Interior Designer – WHR Architects
• MEP Engineers – E&C Engineers & Consultants
• Structural Engineers – Haynes Whaley Associates
• Civil Engineers – Walter P. Moore
• IT/Data Consultants – Datacom Design Group
• Theater Consultants – Schuler Shook
• Acoustical/Audiovisual Consultants – Jaffe Holden
• Cost Consultants – Project Cost Resources
• Landscape Consultants – Garthoff Design
• Owner's Art Consultants – Art + Artisans
Project Statistics
• Project Location – Huntsville, Texas
• Project Size – 101,945 gsf (New Construction)
• Project Cost – $38.5 million
• Construction Cost – $32.5 million
• Completion Date – September 2010
Key Components
• 787 - Seat Concert Hall
• 182 - Seat Recital Hall
• 160 - Seat Dance Theatre
• 4 - Dance Studios
• 3 - Theatre Rehearsal Studios
• 10 - Music Studio Offices
• 5 - Theatre Studio Offices
• 1 - Classroom
• 1 - Body Conditioning Room
• 1 - Dance Faculty Prep Room
• 2 - Performer’s Lounges
• 1 - VIP Lounge
• Dance Department Offices
• Dean’s Office Suite
• Theatre Faculty Offices
• Scene Shop (weld & paint rooms)
• Costume Shop
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