Arlington ISD Arts and Athletics Complex

  • K-12 Education
  • Arlington, TX
  • 195,500 SF
Location
Arlington, TX
Size
195,500 SF
Client
Arlington ISD
Design Partner
HKS Architects

Overview

The Arlington ISD (AISD) Arts and Athletics Complex is a state of the art facility on more than 21 acres, that serves the district’s entire student body, grades pre kindergarten through 12. The new 97,963 sf Center for Visual and Performing Arts, a world class performance and demonstration venue, features a 1,250 seat concert hall, 425 seat theater, art and dance studios, and an instrument repair center. The facility also includes an academic wing and student courtyard, as well as an art gallery next to the main lobby.

The district’s Athletics Complex includes a gymnasium, a 13,500 sf Natatorium with an Olympic size Myrtha competition pool, and a 2,500 sf Myrtha warm up pool. These facilities will enable Arlington ISD to provide competition and practice venues for sports that currently lack adequate space at high school campuses.

More about the project

The concert hall and theater featured complex exposed structural designs, including a 60 foot high raked roof in the concert hall and a 40 foot high roof in the theater, requiring meticulous coordination of overhead systems and architectural elements. Because both spaces were designed without ceilings, all conduit, lighting, ductwork, sprinklers, floating acoustic clouds, AV systems, and structural components had to be precisely installed and finished. To accomplish this in the 140 by 95 foot concert hall, the team constructed a full-room scaffold platform that was installed in two phases. The upper level allowed crews to complete overhead mechanical, electrical, and structural work, while a second platform built 22 feet below the structure enabled the installation of acoustic wood clouds, steel baffles, and large speaker arrays.