Story: Jessica Conway
By Friday night, the academic scenery has transformed into a little piece of Broadway. From outdoors, a tranquil courtyard with freshly planted trees luminescent with hanging lanterns and a huge four-story glass lobby is seen.There is a low rumble of multiple conversations through the crowds soon to encounter a clean and contemporary white lobby with musical reminders everywhere, from the multi level hanging ceiling panels to glass stairway railings reminiscent of piano keys.
As you walk into the auditorium the lights soften, voices lower and the smell of popcorn fills the air as the first performance begins on not just any stage, but San Fernando Valley’s all new Performing Arts Center at Cal State University Northridge.
CSUN’s beautiful new addition will revolutionize the ambitions of this program and create a distinct location for the community to express themselves.
Although the Performing Arts Program has been around for 50 years, the work on the center didn’t begin until 2009 and opened in 2011.
Not only will the building become a modern addition to performances in the valley but it will educationally benefit the students at the university.
“It was designed to provide students and the community a large lecture hall, a new radio station space for educational resources and the larger lecture hall for both,” said Robert Bucker,executive director of valley performing arts, .
The larger lecture hall even consists of an art gallery upstairs and a lecture area where concession candy are sold during performances.
“The pristine building will create a more natural way for students to interact with faculty and the community,” according to Jennifer Aguilera, a former student at the University.
The modern hallways with white walls and glass give a professional feel, while the seating area’s subtle lights and wood walls give a warm essence to this building, contributing a sense of inspiration.
“Our mission is to create a cultural experience akin to what’s downtown” said,Pamela Bucker, director of advertising.
The building was established on Jan. 29, 2011, with a unique stage for a wide variety of performances over it’s 36,000 square feet.
The stage features 1,700 removable red cushioned seats including swivel box seats, with three pre-set stage levels depending on the featured performances.
With over three years of construction and over $120 million spent, this new addition to the valley was the last of three major performance centers in Southern California to be built. Other Including the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa, both of which have auditoriums that were designed similarly to make every seat feel as if it has the best viewpoint. The seating arrangements have quality views for the ticket prices ranging from $15 to $75 depending on the chosen location.
In walking back to the courtyard another stage is concealed behind a large glass garage-like wall. The wall retracts into the ceiling making a partially outdoor stage with a large classic black curtain that allows for outdoor performances on summer nights.
Architect Kara Hill designed the building; she has won four awards and has a PH.D. in architecture, her specialty is observatories and performance halls.
With an astonishing level of architecture this building includes over 30,000 square feet of glass for a great scenic view and has over 4,000 tons of steel.
“The design is truly unique, it is welcoming, the west and north are both glass walls, the architect succeeded in making the inside feel as if it were out,” said Bucker, “It’s universally designed for tunable acoustics.”
The walls in the Great Hall are made up of an elastic steel material that can be tuned by tightening and loosening them to accommodate specific performances.
CSUN was not the only university to be remodeled, University of California Santa Cruz and University of California Riverside were few among many.
“Every CSU was funded by the state for a new building ours happened to be this one,” according to Bucker.
Aside from the state funding private funds were also provided. Mike Curb, dean ofdonated over $1 million to help start the process.
The buildingwill help students economically by providing job openings as ushers and custodians.
“The new building is prestigious and will change perspectives on the programs available here,” says Rafael Bondoc, Pierce College student.
Getting the word out to students about the new lecture hall and radio station room is not the only concern the administration at CSUN has, the community driven productions have a substantial amount of work and have proven to be effective.
“There is no question,” said Bucker, “Since opening week we have had six performances, two of which were sold out; this definitely proves we our successful in our community performances so far.”
Famous performers are featured at this location often from Rosanne Cash to Joan Rivers and many more to be booked.
The new Valley Performing Art’s Center contributes more culture to the city, helping the Valley rival to its neighboring communities.
