The Boston-based designLAB Architects team began designing a new Dance and Visual Arts Center at Seton Hill University in Greenberg, Pa., during summer 2012. The design embodies the industrial heritage of its location in a modern and attractive manner through exposed steel and minimal finishes. DesignLAB focused on the university’s goal to create a building that was both open and inviting to students, faculty and the Greensburg community. It will house areas for students and community members to study and apply principles of dance, sculpture, graphic design, metal-smithing, clay works, photography, printmaking, drawing and painting. Welding facilities and a foundry or metal casting area also make up the various studios. The center will provide space for art therapy and education studios as well as the Harlan Gallery to display student works and installations.
In the model, designLAB focused on maximizing the impact of the structural steel bracing and connection trusses. Those elements were very important to the image and character of the building. Aluminum bar grating was used both inside and outside. The team worked with Canton, Ohio-based Ohio Grating to develop details on how the material would be installed as well as ways to incorporate the best spacing of the bar grating. The grating is a key component of the building’s multiple mezzanine level catwalks that take visitors above the wood shop and metal studios. Even the stairs leading from the first to second floor are made of it-creating a visual connection between the two.
A structural steel stair expressed cross bracing; clad in the bar grating is a major component of the exterior elements. A large sliding door that provides access to the art yard-an industrial, factory-like opening that permits delivery of materials and moving large pieces in and out of the center. The entire building will be clad in corrugated metal panels by ATAS International Inc., Allentown, Pa.
It was important to build the new Dance and Visual Arts Center in the Greensburg downtown cultural district so students could engage and interact with the community. In locating the center there, rather than being on Seton Hill’s campus just outside of town, the university avoided isolating artists. The center’s groundbreaking took place in July 2013; construction started in spring 2014. Work on the 45,000-square-foot center is expected to be completed in summer 2015.
The loft-like structure provides a way for passers-by to see the creative process in action. Given the size, concept and scope of the building, designLAB overcame challenges related to budget constraints and timeline demands. The resulting design of a light gray metal-sided building features a transparency and connectivity between the different arts so students and community members can collaborate on projects and easily observe work in progress in nearby studios. Expansive windows offer a vantage point where anyone outside the building can take in an ever-changing backdrop of creativity and expression.
“Artists need a blank canvas to create,” explains Ben Youtz, lead architect on the project. “In terms of designing a space for those artists, we committed ourselves to the master concept of providing transparency and connectivity to the different artistic methods being studied and practiced within the space. Keeping true to that concept provided a way for us to create an inspiring and collaborative environment, where the building itself in no way interferes with the creative process and becomes the canvas in which innovation can flourish.”
Taking advantage of natural light and providing ample daylighting for dance studios, the traditional painting, metal smithing, photography and graphic labs was a factor in the design as well. DesignLAB crafted the building with north-facing poly clear stories to achieve maximum daylight exposure.
The building is organized around an exterior art yard. Comprised of four levels set into a slope, one portion of the building is three levels on the high end, while the low end sits one level below the upper portion of the site. All the clay, woodworking and metal studios open up into the yard. The rest of the building looks into the space, which provides ample room for larger installations outdoors and serves as a collaborative space for students to work together. The art yard is large enough to host events and performances.
DesignLAB relied on ArchiCAD software from GRAPHISOFT North America Inc., Waltham, Mass., throughout the project. At the outset the team modeled in 3-D using ArchiCAD 16 and has since been working in ArchiCAD 17. Working out of state might have presented a logistics challenge, but the team overcame it through collaborating with their partner architect, BSHM Architects Inc. of Ohio, and construction manager, PJ Dick of Pittsburgh. Youtz credits the firm’s established workflow and practice with using Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) on a regular basis in ArchiCAD in their ability to work well with Revit during the production and design process.
“Working out of state necessitates seeking partners located closer to where the project is located,” says Youtz. “As it happens, our consultant works in different software. As we created a substantial portion of the design and construction documents in ArchiCAD and held bi-weekly job meetings we relied heavily on IFC files to translate the bones of the project between all team members. The construction document phase involved intense coordination and frequent updating and ArchiCAD performed beautifully throughout the process.”
In addition to providing a modern, attractive new home for the university’s arts and dance programs, the Seton Hill University Dance and Visual Arts Center is expected to boost the local economy of Greensburg.
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Mary Moscarello is a writer with more than a decade of broadcast and print journalism experience. The BIM Engine Blog by GRAPHISOFT, blog.graphisoftus.com, profiles architects and how they use ArchiCAD to successfully complete projects around the world.