The 103,000 square-foot Academic and Cultural Center will be an important manifestation of the Los Angeles Valley College's commitment to the arts. By housing the media arts and performing arts programs under one roof, the arts department will create a truly multi-disciplinary environment where students and faculty can draw inspiration and resources from the broadest range of expertise.
Sited at the north end of the Campus Green, the Media Arts / Performing Arts Center will simultaneously provide a welcoming Northern terminus to the LAVC campus quad and a public face to the community.
Earthy materials such as corrugated Cor-Ten steel and grey-green terra cotta rainscreen panels are contrasted with taught translucent channel glass in a lively composition.
The Center will create an interdisciplinary learning environment by grouping a full complement of labs, classrooms, rehearsal spaces, production facilities and faculty offices around four primary theater spaces.
These include the 450-seat Main Stage Theatre, a 250-seat Screening Theatre, a 200-seat Horseshoe Theatre and a 90-seat Lab Theatre. They are all tied together with a linear lobby.
The Building is designed in keeping with the school district's ambitious environmental sustainability goals, including the generation of 10% of building energy by on-site photovoltaic panels that form a large, shaded entrance canopy.