Opened in 1976 and without a major renovation since, the SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center (formerly Sacramento Community Center Theater) was a professional performing arts center in dire need of a transformation.The building had aging infrastructure and needed a comprehensive modernization to meet the escalating requirements of contemporary performance and to present a new face to the public as the premier cultural institution in the state capitol.
The aging brutalist structure was closed off from view and separated from the surrounding urban fabric. Providing an accessible venue to all patrons and performers was the primary goal of the project, which entails significant modification to the external and internal circulation. The primary accessibility effort is the removal of the entire audience chamber floor and the provision of new seating and aisle ways throughout.
DLR Group’s renovation and expansion design opens the building to the surrounding urban fabric and brings Sacramento’s rich culture of trees into the building. Contrasting with the opaque concrete of the exterior, a material palette of transparency and lightness creates a welcoming presence at the pedestrian level. Two new lobbies flank the building’s north and south elevations, with a formal, light-filled glass lobby at the south and a covered outdoor room to the north. A lacy scrim providing dappled light reminiscent of the light through a tree canopy surrounds the formal lobby and continues to the north as a canopy. Major renovations to the audience chamber transform an acoustically poor and visually confusing interior into a warm, inviting acoustically superior performance space. Together, these efforts provide a venue to the people of Sacramento that is unique to their community and needs.
The project scope called for improvements throughout the entire existing 98,000 SF building and the addition of 25,000 SF of needed program in the heart of Sacramento’s downtown core. The work includes a complete exterior renovation; new mechanical, plumbing, electrical, and theatrical systems; and substantial updates to the interior finishes throughout the building. The existing theater’s acoustics accommodate a wide range of performances; an electro-acoustic enhancement system will provide a tunable and acoustically superior audience chamber to meet all the needs of the resident companies.DLR Group provided architecture, interiors, graphic design, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, theatrical, acoustics, audio visual, lighting and low voltage design.
Team:
Architects: DLR Group
Collaborators: Kitchell CEM (CA) / Nolte & Associates / The HLA Group
Photographer: David Huff Photography
Materials Used:
Facade cladding:
Metal Panels, Custom perforated panels by Zahner
Metal Panels, Painted Aluminum by Dri Design
Stone Cladding, Sculptured Finish Granite by Hm granitos LDA
Flooring: Broadloom Carpet, Custom Pattern by Milliken
Doors: Curtain wall Doors, Medium Stile Aluminum by Arcadia
Roofing: TPO Roofing, Sure-weld TPO by Carlisle
Interior lighting: Chandelier, Custom Wings by Yellow Goat
