seton hill university
visual + performing arts center
greensburg, pennsylvania
“[Seton Hill] embraces all generations…because the community is there, it really is a beloved building.”
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Type: New Construction
Size: 48,000 SF
Status: Completed, 2016
Photography: Jonathan Hillyer
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2017 Design Excellence - Honor Award
Boston Society of Architects (BSA) Design Awards2016 Educational Facilities Awards - Honor Award
Boston Society of Architects (BSA) Design Awards2016 Excellence in Architecture for a New Building - Merit
SCUP - Society for College & University Planning2016 Award of Excellence
AIA/CAE Education Facility Design Awards2016 Merit Award
New England AIA Design Award2016 Award of Excellence
Eastern Ohio AIA Honor Award2015 Building Excellence Award
Master Builders’ Association of Western Pennsylvania2015 Gold Commonwealth Award
10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania
Following a national invited competition, designLAB architects was selected by Seton Hill University to design the institution’s new Visual Arts Center. designLAB helped Seton Hill University develop a visionary plan to build an Arts Center off the College Hill campus on an industrial site in Greensburg, PA. The result was a new interdisciplinary arts center that encourages collaboration between the university and the community.
Channeling the Pittsburgh area’s industrial heritage, designLAB conceived the steel frame and metal clad building as a “factory for the arts.” The four-level facility consists of a full complement of studio spaces for traditional disciplines like painting and drawing, along with tech-heavy digital and graphic arts, and fabrication spaces. The building’s outdoor Art Yard allows for the making of 3D art to be viewed from the commercial Main Street. The street-frontage at the primary intersection is wrapped continuously in glass.
impact
The new building is an economic catalyst for the city’s cultural district, drawing local artists, gallery observers, and performing arts attendees to support and critique student work. The composition of the Seton Hill Arts Center is contemporary, yet crafted using common materials often found in the region’s industrial buildings. This approach results in an arts center that is built like a low-cost warehouse, but performs like a dynamic cultural and community amenity.
