Kaleidoscope Performing Arts Center

Ursinus College

Location: Collegeville, PA

Total GSF: 54,000 GSF

Completed: 2004

Award:  2007 American School & University, Louis I. Kahn Award

2006 American School & University Educational Interiors Silver Citation

The award-winning Kaleidoscope Performing Arts Center gives the performing arts a highly visible role on campus by anchoring and framing the beginnings of an Arts Lawn, and by providing ample space for creation and performance. Campus circulation passes through the building, encouraging students to engage with the work within and providing space for outdoor performances. Program includes a 140 seat black box studio, a 350 seat proscenium theater, faculty offices and a suite of backstage workrooms.

Material choices for the Kaleidoscope Performing Arts Center reflect sustainable thinking: locally quarried stone requires little energy for transportation, and together with copper panels provides a durable façade that will require very little ongoing maintenance. Interior finishes, including cast-in-place concrete structural columns and floors, are similarly spare and low-maintenance. Strategically reducing the quantity of interior finishes lessens the embodied energy of the project without affecting the quality and durability of the space.