Moses Brown School – Woodman PAC

Durkee, Brown, Viveiros & Werenfels Architects (in association with Theatre Projects) designed a new 500-seat performance space, the Woodman Family Community and Performance Center, to house the school’s music and theatre programs, as well as a space for Quaker meeting and worship services. With the varied program needs of the 25,000 sf structure, Acentech needed to design maximum flexibility into the room’s acoustics and audiovisual systems. This was achieved through the use of 3D modeling and document coordination with the design architect and engineering team.

The new highly-flexible auditorium – with telescoping seating and hydraulic flooring – is used for orchestral performance, solo and chamber music recitals, plays and musical theatre, lectures, and meetings. The room’s generous height and carefully placed fabric wall panels and acoustical reflectors provide enjoyable listening conditions for music performances while allowing clear speech intelligibility during meetings without use of amplification. The building features a very quiet HVAC system with underfloor air delivery, and advanced sound isolation to protect the space from noise from the nearby outdoor athletic fields while providing natural light to the theater.

The audiovisual system is used for speech reinforcement, audio playback, and video presentations on a large projection screen. Loudspeakers have been strategically located to allow for the flexible room configurations and needs from the users. Audiovisual systems were also designed for classrooms and included video projection or large video display panels. In some classrooms (used as “backstage” areas), camera and audio feeds are sent from the auditorium so that students can monitor events occurring in the auditorium.

The building’s design features numerous sustainable elements including solar shades, daylight harvesting systems, LED lighting with enhanced controls, stormwater runoff mitigation, infrastructure for future solar panels, and a high performance building envelope.

Check out Moses Brown’s entertaining and fun video on the grand opening of this vital new performance center!