Newtown High School Auditorium

Location
Sandy Hook CT

Institution
Town of Newtown

Architect
Smith Edwards McCoy

Acoustician
JaffeHolden

Construction Manager
Newfield Construction

The world’s first vineyard style recital hall is at Penn State’s School of Music, and it sounds marvelous. Nextstage Design provided theater planning and equipment design. The engaging hall supports a 50-piece orchestra and 415 patrons, none of whom are more than 36 feet from the concert platform. Retractable banners allow adjustment of the room acoustics to suit the repertoire, and an LED lighting system provides extensive capability to alter the visual environment. The new hall is an addition to the 1960s-era Music Building I. The existing recital hall within Music I was backfilled with an orchestra rehearsal room, support spaces, and new mechanical equipment servicing both the new and existing buildings.

Construction Type
Renovation

Square Feet
13,700

Cost
$3.75 million

Completion
2017

Spaces
950-seat multipurpose theater

Photography © Carl Vernlund