The Feldman-Horn Center for the Arts incorporates the Harvard Westlake School’s art and cultural programs that were formerly spread vertically over its canyon-side site in a series of makeshift spaces, into a central, integrated facility.  The Center is part of an expansion plan for the school that creates a nexus for teaching and interaction between students and professionals by constructing physical and programmatic links to the school’s most significant building, a historic chapel.

CONNECTING PROGRAM, CONTEXT, &  COMMUNITY

The Center is less a specific destination, but more a threshold, a transitional space for interaction and movement.  Given the complexity of the existing topography, diverse program, campus circulation, and context, a more traditional campus model was inappropriate.  Instead, the Center’s spatial organization is defined by movement through, rather than the occupation of, space; creating a more open, resonant system that supports connections beyond its edges and allows flexibility for the integration of future developments.

A PARALLEL TO A HISTORIC CONTEXT

This armature for movement uses the new tower as a significant ordering and orienting device.  A series of links to the surrounding buildings and landscape is created through formal and metaphoric connections.  From the Center’s entry, the buildings create a series of portals and gateways that engage visitors and draw them into the more open space of the expansive public courtyard at the Center’s heart.  The Center’s tower is a modern counterpoint to the campus’ chapel.  The twinned forms of the tower and the chapel extending above the courtyard, become a visual link between the Feldman-Horn Center, the canyon landscape, and the campus as a whole.