/Equipment & Technology, Planning & Design

New Mexico State University Center for the Arts

Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA
Tom Kessler Photography

This arts center creates both a much needed space for NMSU’s fine arts programs and gives the university a way to better connect with the surrounding community. The center features an intimate drama theatre with an orchestra pit, trap room, two balconies, and a fly tower.
59,000
square-foot facility
3
lobbies

The center also includes a large, glass-walled, 200-seat rehearsal room, outdoor terraces, lounge areas, classrooms, and support spaces. The LEED Gold-certified building features numerous sustainable technologies and techniques. Theatre Projects contributed to the certification with the use of energy-efficient theatre lighting. The arts center has been hailed as an iconic architectural gem for the city as well as an eminently capable facility for teaching and performance.  

Tom Kessler Photography
owner:
New Mexico State University
architect:
Holzman Moss Bottino Architecture
acoustician:
Acoustic Dimensions
users:
NMSU Theatre Arts, American Southwest Theatre Company
spaces:
  • 460-seat drama theatre
  • 200-seat rehearsal room
construction type:
New construction
theatre type:
Arts & cultural centers, Auditorium design/seating, College & university, Concept design, Drama theatres, Program development
services:
Programming, concept design, theatre planning, and theatre equipment design and specification
completion:
2013
Tom Kessler Photography

Related Projects

Bowling Green State University, Wolfe Center for the Arts Eastern Connecticut State University, Fine Arts Instructional Center University of Missouri-St. Louis, Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center