Winchester Cultural Center: Dance Studio Room Addition

By -

Next month, construction launches on an approximately 1,400 SF Dance Studio Room addition to the Winchester Cultural Center.  This center has cultivated the arts and beautiful desert gardens for decades.  It’s been an honor and pleasure to work with Patrick Gaffey, center director, and the talented instructors, in designing this great addition for the arts.  It’s our aspiration that this dance studio addition will inspire community members of all ages to continue to advance their talents.

The inspiration for the dance studio was taking the outdoor atmosphere indoors.  Inside the dance studio, a decorative tree sculpture with shelving serves as a “pride wall” and welcomes students.  This tree motif, echoed on the natural linoleum entrance floor and walls, enlivens and energizes both place and participants.  Easily accessed cubbies provide quick transition from daily routine into the class setting.  Alcoves on the east and west walls serve multiple purposes for the dance studio: storage, seating, acoustics, and daylighting.  An acoustical bi-fold door separates the shared storage area from the dance studio.

The dance studio is enhanced with energy efficient tubular skylights, acoustic ceiling, acoustic panels, adjustable ballet barres, glassless mirrors, resilient sprung floor for the dance surface, and new signage.  The new sound system is state of the art audio with mixer, wireless microphone receiver, and a solid-state recorder enhances the functionality of the studio, and is all designed to hide within a tilt-out cabinet.  Large windows provide daylighting, and natural ventilation.  Customizable thermal settings and wall-mounted electric fans give the dancers additional control over their comfort.

The comfortable and inviting interior is enhanced by carefully selected exterior elements.  The high Dance Studio massing creates a bookend effect and integrates with the Auditorium at the opposite end of the classroom spine, and its interior space is perfect for a dancer’s flying lift.

For outside masonry walls we specified Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems (EIFS) increasing the R-value from 1.7 to 13.  The roof has two-ply insulation for an R-value of 30 versus 20.  These wall and roof insulation systems exceed minimum code requirements and result in less demand for interior heating and cooling, adding to the sustainability of the project.  The cold rolled, corrugated, weathered steel at the exterior of alcove saddlebags drew inspiration from the Flamingo Wash trailhead arch and art.  This material is 100% recyclable and is up to 30% recycled or post consumer materials.

Desert landscaping integrates with the established gardens.  A drip irrigation system is also designed to accommodate future gardens planned by the Friends of Winchester.

This $500K project for Clark County brings Wright Engineers, KJE Consulting Engineers, and Sound Design International together with our team at Anne Johnson, AIA.  Kety Allred is RPM's Design and Construction Administrator for the project.  Contract for construction awarded to Pesavento Construction.


Perspective Sketches of Dance Studio

Rendering of Dance Studio

Comments

  1. Anne JohnsonNovember 28, 2012 at 3:28 PM

    Contract for construction awarded to Pesavento Construction.

    www.p3cm.com

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Family Navigation Center - Official Ground Breaking Ceremony

By -
Image
Family Promise of Las Vegas (FPLV) held the Official Ground Breaking Ceremony for the Family Navigation Center on June 15, 2023. left to right: James Maurer, Gabrielle Fernandez, Melina Soto Clark, Natalie Perez, Frank Guckin, Anne Johnson, Terry Lindemann, Sam Nicholson This important project has been a long awaited vision for FPLV and Sparkflight Studios is honored to be the architect for this facility that will be a resource for homeless families with children. FPLV is empowering homeless families to achieve sustainable independence in Clark County for more than 27 years.   Anne Johnson thanked the design team at the ceremony and was emotional as she expressed how they have been working with FPLV for more than five years. Anne said, "I love seeing the vision and some of the seeds coming to life. There are so many dedicated consultants who helped bring this design together and I want to thank them all." A big shout out to the following leadership and design team members: Fa
Read more

Reflecting on a Decade of Dedication - Melina Clark!

By -
Image
by: Melina Clark "These past ten years at Sparkflight Studios (SFS) flew by.  SFS was my first architectural job, and I could not have asked for a more fantastic mentor than Anne. I have learned so much from her, including honesty, integrity, and hard work. Architecture is not an easy career, but it is worth it when you have meaningful projects.     My favorite project to date is the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority (SNRHA) Wardelle Street Townhouse project. I genuinely enjoy working on affordable housing. There is a significant need for affordable housing in this Valley and across the United States. Wardelle Street Townhouses provide 57 units for families or individuals in need. These units have market-rate amenities, which help the tenants feel pride and care for their homes.     Wardelle Street Townhouses was my first ground-up project, which is incredibly exciting as a designer. Having an opportunity to help shape a piece of land that benefits the community is my rea
Read more

AIA Nevada Fellows and SFx Event

By -
Image
The Business of Architecture: Staffing, Retention & Recruitment left to right: Mark Johnson, AIA; Anne Johnson, AIA; Greg Erny, FAIA; Angela Bigotti, AIA Last month, AIA Nevada hosted the Fellows Forum (in conjunction with SFx) to discuss an important topic today - Staffing, Retention & Recruitment. The panel included long-time AIA members Mark Johnson of H+K Architects, Anne Johnson of Sparkflight Studios, and Angela Bigotti of Van Wert Bigotti Architects, as well as AIA Fellow Greg Erny of architects + LLC.  Key takeaways from the discussion included: The challenge of recruiting and growing young talent from novice to competent practitioner. How to engage and grow with emerging professionals in the office and still maintain an efficient practice. A representative from Truckee Meadows Community College joined in the discussion, and shared how they are the first community college in the nation to offer an associate degree in architecture. See more at  https://catalog.tmcc.edu/d
Read more