Wallace State Community College, Burrow Center for the Fine & Performing Arts

Hanceville, Alabama

Firm

Goodwyn Mills Cawood

Client

Wallace State Community College

Area

51,849 sq.ft.

Total Cost

$12,300,000

Completion Date

09/2009

Burrow Center is a fine- and performing-arts facility on the campus of Wallace State Community College in Hanceville, Ala. It features a museum; performance band, jazz band and show choir programs; and arts programs such as ceramics, drawing and graphic design.

The program functions are organized around a central two-story commons, which serves as a lounge during school hours, and a formal prefunction area or banquet hall during special performances or events. Classrooms, performance halls, faculty offices and the conference area open to this gathering area. Materials and colors are contemporary and appropriate to the arts.

The commons area has full glass at each end and along the north face to provide daylighting. Steel handrail details complement the exterior design and detailing. The modern space provides a contemporary, yet comfortable background for the contrasting elegant, often intricate, Burrow Museum collection, which is displayed throughout the commons area.

The building was designed around sustainable principles using durable, low-maintenance materials, and energy-efficient systems and fixtures.