The university’s new, highly visible performing arts building brings the arts together under one roof, co-locating the departments of theater and dance, while connecting to the nationally recognized Crane School of Music. As one of the first academic buildings constructed since architect Ed Barne’s work in the 1960s, the performing arts building respects the box-like brick structures dominating much of the campus, yet provides a contemporary, fluid, and transparent architecture that conveys the energy and vitality of the arts within. Architecturally inspired by nature, the sweeping roof drapes the theater’s fly tower much as blankets of snow cover the region during much of the school year. The silvery-gray Trespa panels pay homage to the graphite industry, which spawned the area’s early development, while the building’s jutting form and extruded terracotta tiles echo the rock striations for which the Adirondack area is known.

This project was designed by Pfeiffer prior to joining Perkins Eastman.