Pfluger Associates LP and Miró Rivera Architects, which provided consulting services, designed a curtainwall for Austin Independent School District’s Performing Arts Center with a daylighting system running across the top and vision glass spanning the bottom. It allows diffused light to penetrate deep into the space without glare. The curtainwall provides unobstructed views and eliminates high sun angles and heat gain.
Sean Conner is project manager at Pfluger Associates. “The use of a translucent panel system was in response to the owner’s desire to create a visual lantern effect for nighttime events,” Conner says.
Skylights Over Texas LLC installed 6,850 square feet of CPI Daylighting Inc.’s UniQuad translucent wall light system. Conner says he was impressed with the curtainwall’s thermal resistance. “During construction, when the CPI panels were installed in the lobby but the [air conditioning] was not yet running, the room was comfortable even in Texas in August, with 100 degree-plus temperatures and a directly west-facing wall.”
Additionally, Texas Roofing Co. LP installed Petersen Aluminum Corp.’s 12-inch PAC-CLAD Flush metal wall panels for the project.
The Performing Arts Center is located on the grounds of a former airport, in the Mueller planned unit development in the northeast-central portion of Austin. It serves 84,000 students annually from all of the district’s schools.
The arts venue has a 1,200-seat auditorium; 4,690-square-foot dance studio; 2,600-squarefoot, 100-seat multipurpose room; 250-seat black box theater; lobby with an art display space; and 400-car parking garage. Additionally, the facility contains a kiln room, recording studio, landscaped plaza with three gathering spaces for outdoor performances, the school district’s fine arts offices and an administrative wing. The $30 million, 62,000-square-foot project received a 5-Star rating through the Austin Energy Green Building Program. It was designed to attain LEED Gold certification and was completed in 2014.
General contractor: American Constructors Inc., Austin
Architects: Miró Rivera Architects, Austin, and Pfluger Associates LP, Austin
Skylight installer: Skylights Over Texas LLC, San Antonio
Metal roofing installer: Texas Roofing Co. LP, Round Rock, Texas
Daylighting: CPI Daylighting Inc., Lake Forest, Ill., cpidaylighting.com
Metal wall panels: Petersen Aluminum Corp., Elk Grove Village, Ill., www.pac-clad.com
