DS+R Prior Performing Arts Center is designed as a public commons
Prior Performing Arts Center by Diller Scofidio + Renfro completes at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts
The College of the Holy Cross has just opened a $110 million performing arts centre designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro expressing the school’s commitment to liberal arts as a core component of its curriculum. The team behind it highlight that it is designed to break down boundaries, celebrating inclusivity and creativity through putting public space for coming together and debate at its heart.
‘There’s a spirit of cultural change that’s brought about by this space and by this building that I think is absolutely fundamental to who we are at Holy Cross,' says associate professor of music Daniel J DiCenso.
Prior Performing Arts Center is more than a house for the theatre and music departments. Not only is there a sound-engineered, 400-seat proscenium stage lined with makore wood tricked out with technology, along with a 200-seat black box theatre and an art gallery, the space aims to serve as a public commons where students from all degree programmes can gather, lounge, use specialised facilities, experience ad hoc events and orchestra performances, and hang out at its café. Sitting near the top of a hill above Worcester, the second biggest city in Massachusetts after Boston, the building is visible to the town and was designed to be open to all.
On the outside, it looks like an elegant Frank Stella sculpture. Folds of formwork composed of reinforced glass concrete panels curve over sheer walls of rusted steel, accented at each corner with gardens planted by landscape architecture firm Olin Partnership. Curtain walls and clerestory windows bring daylight to the central gathering space, dubbed ‘the Beehive', opening up views of its production facilities, set shop, costume design studio, and sound and AR/VR labs.
The interaction of concrete and steel, mirroring the brick and limestone of Holy Cross’ historic campus, plays with ideas of backstage and public presentation, merging expressiveness and function, one of the hallmarks of the Diller Scofidio + Renfro office. The designers analysed the college’s needs and the building’s anticipated uses and devised a site plan that inadvertently, they claim, happens to form a cross. ‘We love doing academic work,' says Charles Renfro, the lead principal designer. ‘We know that they want a pedagogical tool that also demonstrates the pedagogy.'
Last year, Vincent D Rougeau became the school's first non-ordained president. He says liberal arts education is a natural extension of the Jesuit order, which since its origins has been known for intellectual inquiry and embrace of the arts. ‘Since our earliest days, we’ve been focused on humanities, arts, and science, and we see all of those coming together as a path to wisdom,' he says. ‘This centre is going to help us elevate all of those pieces in a stunning new space and communicate to the world all of the aspects of what makes a liberal arts education great.'
In a world where tensions can easily rise, especially when it comes to issues of diversity of thought and religion, it is down to the school's new public commons approach to lead the debate and demonstrate the success or failure of the building’s gesture of inclusivity.
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
INFORMATION
-
Rio Kobayashi’s new furniture bridges eras, shown alongside Fritz Rauh’s midcentury paintings at Blunk Space
Furniture designer Rio Kobayashi unveils a new series, informed by the paintings of midcentury artist Fritz Rauh, at California’s Blunk Space
By Ali Morris Published
-
New York restaurant Locanda Verde’s second outpost will transport you to a different time and place
Locanda Verde’s expansive new Hudson Yards osteria exudes a sophisticated yet intimate atmosphere overflowing with art treasures
By Adrian Madlener Published
-
LVMH watch week 2025: everything we know so far
Our guide to LVMH Watch Week 2025, taking place in New York and Paris, starting 21 January; keep an eye out for our updates
By James Gurney Published
-
LA Mayor Karen Bass outlines her plan for rebuilding the city
Following the devastating LA wildfires, which have destroyed more than 12,000 structures, the city’s mayor has outlined her plan for reconstruction
By Anna Solomon Published
-
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Weisblat House, a Usonian modernist Michigan gem, could be yours
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Weisblat House in Michigan is on the market – a chance to peek inside the heritage modernist home in the countryside
By Audrey Henderson Published
-
Cabin House is a simple modernist retreat in the woods of North Carolina
Designed for downsizing clients, Cabin House is a modest two-bedroom home that makes the most of its sylvan surroundings
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
A Texas ranch house blends Californian charm and Asian minimalism in a 'balance in hybridity'
Pontious, a Texas ranch house designed by OWIU, is a home grounded in its owner's cultural identity, uniting Californian, Chinese and Japanese roots
By Tianna Williams Published
-
The three lives of the Edith Farnsworth House: now, a modernist architecture icon open to all
The modernist Edith Farnsworth House has had three lives since its conception in 1951 by Mies van der Rohe; the latest is a sensitive renovation, and it's open to the public
By Audrey Henderson Published
-
Year in review: the top 12 houses of 2024, picked by architecture director Ellie Stathaki
The top 12 houses of 2024 comprise our finest and most read residential posts of the year, compiled by Wallpaper* architecture & environment director Ellie Stathaki
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
A vacant Tribeca penthouse is transformed into a bright, contemporary eyrie
A Tribeca penthouse is elevated by Peterson Rich Office, who redesigned it by adding a sculptural staircase and openings to the large terrace
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
We walk through Luther George Park and its new undulating pavilion
Luther George Park by Trahan Architects and landscape architects Spackman Mossop Michaels opens to the public, showcasing a striking new pavilion installation – take a first look
By Ellie Stathaki Published