Sander Architects was awarded first place with their design for the IPAC, a new performing arts center for Idyllwild Arts Academy, one of the country’s top three feeder high schools for the arts. Situated in the mountains outside Los Angeles, the IPAC rests on one side of the site, with the empty space forming a “new green quad at the heart of campus”.
More about the IPAC after the break.
The design includes a curved roof plane that is accessible from both sides as it gently slopes to meet the grade level. People using the Concert Hall and Theater Fly Tower will “penetrate through this curved roof plane which will be sheathed in rusted cor-ten panels.”
The walkable roof will be landscaped with drought-tolerant greenery and provide additional seating for concerts. When movies are projected onto the Theater Fly Tower, the roof will provide an outdoor movie theater viewing area. The panel designs are inspired by the foliage in the area.
The building demonstrates Sander Architects’ “hybrid-construction concept”, which uses recycled light-gauge metal building components that will be manufactured off-site using computer-controlled processes. By using this construction method, Sander Architects has greatly reduced the cost of previous projects, and estimates that this proposal will be 30% below the budget.
Schematic design is schedule to be completed in October, and construction should start in mid-2010.
