Theatre Arts at Trinity Christian College

Palos Heights, Illnois 2008, Phase 1 built

Sited along the entry drive to a suburban college campus, the Theater Arts Building is phase 1 of a multiphase project. Phase 1 has the core components of a black box theater, scene shop, backstage theater support spaces, lecture hall, exhibition gallery, and studio workshops for sculpture, ceramics, printmaking and painting. Phase 2 would add additional classrooms, faculty offices, and a student lounge enclosing a courtyard overlooking a landscape of wooded ravine and floodplain. The theatre and exhibition gallery are open to the public and intended for community outreach and engagement with the community.

The 200 seat black box theater, is cocooned within an exposed precast concrete volume of considerable mass and is heavily textured during the fabrication process for sound dispersion to provide an economy of means. Acoustic curtain panels are deployed in numerous configurations for further acoustic tuning and tiered seating reconfigured to support a number of stage types. This heavy core of theatre volume is surrounded by layers of support program and art facilities to protect against acoustic disruption during performances. This outer shell is steel frame and masonry construction of more economical means.

Theater Consultants: Morris Architects and Planners, Schuler Shook
Acoustical Consultant: Threshold Acoustics
MEP Engineer: WMA Consulting Engineers
Structural + Civil Engineer: Rubinos Mesia Inc
Photography: Evan Thomas – Studio Thomas