RECAP! The Department of Theatre and Dance at Ball State University is seeking to expand their current facilities. The design will focus on improving production spaces through increased overall square footage for all support areas and ensuring they meet all required guidelines. It will also strive to integrate the surrounding community’s culture, the university’s brand and the department’s character to create a unique identity that can be promoted nationwide.
Throughout the fall semester, I completed the programming portion of the project. This includes precedent studies, case studies, literature review, interviews and surveys, behavioral mapping, site documentation, macro/micro programming, block diagrams and concept analysis.
Northside Middle School = Site One
All 16 weeks of the fall semester were spent designing around Northside Middle School, a site recently bought and now owned by Ball State University. At just over 178,000 square feet, all the desired spaces will fit within the existing building shell. Though the site is off campus, it would act as a connector between main campus and the recreation fields. The program itself is extensive - including academic, office, support and performance spaces.
After discussions with the client, adjacency were determined and a diagram was created. This diagram, in conjunction with the desired square-footage, was then developed into preliminary floor plans.
All three plans focused on a couple main ideas. (1) consolidate all the performance and support spaces to create a public side of the building and an academic side. This will naturally help with way-finding and prevent interference during performances. (2) ensure there is plenty of natural light where people will be spending a lot time such as the shops, offices and studios. This is done through exterior windows, interior atriums and skylights. (3) provide the students with lounge spaces throughout the building. Students and staff spend a majority of their time outside of class, still within the building during late night rehearsals and show production.
Unfortunately(?) during our last meeting of the semester, the clients decided to take the project in a different direction...
Patterson Block, Downtown Muncie
Instead, they wanted to look into keeping their academic and office spaces on campus while creating a Performing Arts Center downtown. After looking into available buildings near downtown I decided on a group of abandoned building, along with a historic building, near the Muncie Civic Theater. Nearby, patrons would have access to restaurants, the Muncie Transit System and other entertainment spaces such as, The Civic Theater and Cornerstone Center for the Arts. With the addition of the Ball State University Performing Arts Center, this section of downtown Muncie could become a epicenter for arts and culture.
The Italianate style Patterson Block is a three-story rectangular block, constructed of brick, with a clipped northwest. Fine craftsmanship and detailing is evident throughout the building, particularly in the window treatment of the upper two stories and the massive, bracketed cornice.
The seven storefronts have housed a variety of business reflective of a growing community’s want and needs including a grocery store, clothing stores, a barber shop, a jeweler, and a saloon. The building is also noted for housing a few local “firsts” - the first local telephone exchange and the first Muncie police station.
The Patterson Block is the second largest pre-1900 building in the Walnut Street Historic District.
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