Nathan Hale High School Performing Arts Center

Owner: Seattle Public Schools
Scope: 19,300 SF
Notable: Honored with six design awards

Celebration of the arts, both through education and exhibition, is embedded in the design of this Performing Arts Center addition. The program is distilled into three primary building components. The stage is a strong masonry mass that anchors the building form. The house is a metallic box that floats above the gallery, providing shelter and definition at the entry. A glass-walled gallery envelops the public realm of the building and becomes a bright lantern at night, inviting the community inside. Doors open onto the landscaped entry courtyard for large gatherings in warm weather. Additional flexible venues support the school’s presentation-based curriculum: a black-box theater, two interior forums for intimate presentations, and an exterior forum and sloped lawn for outdoor events.