The Youngker High School Performing Arts Center was the last building constructed on the campus in Buckeye, Ariz., an area that was converting from farmland to master-planned residential community. Jeff Kershaw of Orcutt Winslow wanted to capture the agriculture legacy of the community through the forms and textures of the building, so the Phoenix-based architect offered the residents a building that is a beacon in the night.
“We were trying to orchestrate the movement of arriving there and forgetting where you’ve been so you can watch the performance,” Kershaw says.
As visitors approach the southern elevation, they are treated to a spectacular façade of perforated metal panels that shows openings in uneven locations and screens the tall lobby from the constant sun. While those openings appear abstract, they are not. The pattern represents the punctures in a piano roll, and the tune it would play would be American composer Aaron Copland’s ballet, “Rodeo.”
Houston-based MBCI supplied the panels. While the skin speaks of music, the heart of the building is steel. Metallic Building Co., Houston, supplied the pre-engineered metal building.
Judge Andrew Cottrell sums up the judges’ feelings: “What jumps out at me first is the use of traditional pre-engineered building elements in non-traditional ways and is very exciting to see. The various uses of metal on the entire building create so much interest, highlighted by the perforated wall that almost vanishes at night.”
Youngker High School Performing Arts Center, Buckeye, Ariz.
Completed: December 2010
Total square feet: 22,000 square feet
Building owner: Buckeye Union High School District No. 201
Architect: Orcutt Winslow, Phoenix, www.owp.com
General contractor: Core Construction, Phoenix
Installer: Architectural Building Systems, Phoenix
Metal building: Metallic Building Co., Houston, www.metallic.com
Metal wall panels: MBCI, Houston, www.mbci.com