The facility, situated on a 1.9 acre-area, has been developed by McCarthy and designed by Zimmer Gunsul Frasca. The Arts centre covers three floors and spans 47,836 square feet. It comprises a reception lobby, multiple support areas, and an auditorium with a seat capacity of 1000. The four-storey Academic Building spans 48,974 square feet. Among its various features are 11 classrooms, 29 faculty offices, a black box theater with 150 seat capacity, four dressing rooms, a rehearsal/dance studio, musician warm-up areas and other support spaces.
Both the structures have been fitted with a green roof and solar panels. The green roof features three to four inches of soil with succulent plants. This helps in offering sound and heat insulation, absorption and filtering of rain water, and transformation of carbon dioxide to oxygen. The buildings have also incorporated a bioswale to facilitate storm water runoff management.
The academic facility has been equipped with operable windows for climate control. The buildings have also been installed with occupancy sensor-controlled lighting fixtures as well as automatic daylight responsive dimmable lighting controls in all classrooms, black-box and the lobbies. Use of a displacement ventilation unit provides cooler air near the floor while phasing out warmer air in academic and performance hall areas.
The exterior portion of the Arts Centre sports a glass sunshade consisting of 570 panes of laminated safety glass. The glass diffuses light and repels heat while allowing visibility. The performance hall is further adorned with adjustable floor diffusers underneath bulk of the seats. Installation of low-flow water systems and instantaneous gas water heaters reaps water cost cuts. In addition, use of green materials, upgrades to indoor air quality, and recycling about 75% of construction debris adds to the sustainability.
