Alabama School of Fine Arts
Birmingham, AL
Alabama School of Fine Arts, one of the top public arts and science schools in the nation, desired a state-of-the-art facility for both school and community use.
The 19,212-square-foot multi-purpose performing arts facility was designed and constructed to support the theatre, dance, and music programs. It has been heralded as the most acoustically flexible and technically advanced performance space in the state of Alabama.
The 500-seat proscenium theatre includes a fully-rigged Broadway-sized stage house that includes 45 weighted line sets, a portable orchestra shell, a mechanical orchestra lift, and a sprung floor to accommodate dance. Pivoting acoustic panels can be adjusted in order to tune the room for various types of performances. Backstage support facilities include a scene shop, dressing rooms, a green room, and a costume laundry facility. The state-of-the-art sound and light booth is large enough for teaching a class of 15 students.
We connected the theatre to the existing school with a new lobby space that serves as a pre-function space and art gallery for the display of works by students, faculty, and community artists.
The end result was a building that enhances their mission of education and community development.
“This is where students learn lighting, sound, and everything technical. Every new venue is now ‘state-of-the-art’ and literally everything is in the digital realm here”
—Dan Gainey
Facilities Manager
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Master Planning
Full Services Architecture
Interior Design Services