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Chapman University's Musco Center for the Arts Honored with Architizer A+Award

Acanthus leaf-shaped acoustic panels and firefly lights on the balcony fascaie conjure an Italian secret garden
July 30, 2018
Chapman University’s 1,050-seat Musco Center for the Arts, in Orange, CA, has received an Architizer A+ Award in the Cultural/Theater category. Designed to fulfil the needs of the University’s music, theater, and dance departments, along with the surrounding community, the hall seamless transforms from a proscenium theater to an acoustically superb concert hall by means of a flying shell. Master acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota, of Disney Hall fame, provided the acoustics expertise, collaborating with the design team on the copper colored acoustic panels, shaped like acanthus leaves, that underline the design concept of an Italian secret garden, complete with firefly lights on the balcony fasciae. The challenge of the City’s building height restrictions was met by locating the fly tower and auditorium one level below grade and establishing a sloping garden/forecourt to lower the site without compromising the dramatic design. The soaring two-story lobby, which connects to the balcony level, accentuates the height and affords views of the forecourt, completing the garden motif.