News Release
Michael Maltzan Architecture chosen to design SF State Creative Arts Center
Renowned architect heads a team featuring world-famous leaders in sound and theatre design.
SAN FRANCISCO, May 21, 2008 -- SF State announced today its selection of Michael Maltzan Architecture to design its new Creative Arts Center.
The building will be a landmark project for the University, serving as a new home for SF State's acclaimed programs in broadcast and electronic communication arts, music, dance and theatre as well as an important center for performing arts in the region.
The building will include a new 1,200 seat theatre, little theatre, black box theatre, music recital hall and choral and orchestral rehearsal spaces. Ground breaking on the first of three construction phases is scheduled to take place in 2010.
"The Creative Arts Center will set the bar for design quality and sustainability for the campus," said Simon Lam, associate vice president for capital planning, design and construction. "Michael Maltzan brings to the project an artful, inventive, integrative approach to design, befitting a building dedicated to the performing and broadcast arts, and one that will serve as an icon for the campus. His team's collective expertise is well suited to the complexities of the building and site."
The project is the first new construction in the University's master plan, which envisions a sustainable campus organized around a central green space. The new building will sit on the southwest corner of campus along Lake Merced Boulevard.
"This building is meant to be a gateway, both physically and culturally," Maltzan said. "The exciting challenge is to create a building that expresses the spirit of creativity in this special context. Those are hallmarks of our architecture, creating strong, dynamic, and optimistic ideas of our future."
Maltzan has extensive experience in designing creative arts spaces, having designed the Billy Wilder Theater and Hammer Museum, both at University of California, Los Angeles. The award-winning architect also worked on the renowned Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles when he worked with Gehry Partners. Maltzan also designed the MoMA QNS, the temporary home for New York's Museum of Modern Art, fashioned by renovating a 154,000 square foot Swingline Staples factory in the borough of Queens.
The Los Angeles-based firm has a reputation in the design world for producing visually appealing, functional spaces -- often with a civic conscience. Maltzan's firm designed the New Carver Apartments in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles to critical acclaim in the architecture world.
Maltzan has assembled a team that will ensure a top-notch facility. Theatre consultants Fisher Dachs Associates Inc., have completed more than 500 projects around the world, including the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis and renovation work at Radio City Music Hall and the Hollywood Bowl.
Also on the team is Nagata Acoustics, Japan's leading acoustical consulting firm that has worked on some of the most famous concert halls around the globe. Maltzan worked with Nagata on the design of the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.
"We're delighted one of the brightest young architects today has been selected to produce an important, cornerstone building on campus," said Ron Compesi, interim dean of the College of Creative Arts.
The facility will be financed through a partnership of private and public funds. A $10 million gift from alumni Manny Mashouf and Neda Mashouf has enabled the University to move forward in hiring Maltzan. The University expects to raise another $40 million from alumni and friends to complete the project.
For more information about the SF State Master Plan, visit www.sfsumasterplan.org For more information about Michael Maltzan Architecture, visit www.mmaltzan.com
SF State's College of Creative Arts offers among the most prestigious and diverse artistic higher education of any Northern California academic institution. An internationally acclaimed faculty teaches more than 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students from around the world in renowned programs in Art, Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts, Cinema, Design and Industry, Music, Dance and Theatre Arts. Each semester, the college presents more than 150 performances, exhibits, screenings, broadcasts and special events featuring students, faculty and celebrated professional artists. For more information, visit: http://creativearts.sfsu.edu
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