Tempe Center for the Arts

Tempe, Arizona, USA

Michael Masengarb/Architekton

This 80,000-square-foot arts center is located within a 17-acre art park on the banks of Tempe’s Town Lake. It serves a wide range of uses, including professional theatre, education, and corporate and community events.

The public spaces incorporate several art pieces and offer striking views of the Rio Salado and Papago Mountains. To serve disparate professional, educational, and community users, we designed a 600-seat multipurpose theatre with demountable orchestra shell, adjustable forestage extension, full fly tower, and four seating levels that stack the audience vertically around the stage, creating an engaging interplay. We designed the Tempe Center’s studio theatre with collapsible seating, reconfigurable staging, and versatile rigging and lighting systems to provide unrestricted creative opportunities.

Peter Rutti/Architekton

owner:

City of Tempe

architect:

Barton Myers Associates | Architekton

acoustician:

Arup Acoustics

users:

A Ludwig Dance Theatre, Arizona Academy of the Performing Arts, Arizona Wind Symphony, Childsplay, Desert Dance Theater, Tempe Community Chorus, Tempe Symphonic Wind Ensemble, and Tempe Symphony Orchestra

spaces: