With various program elements dispersed throughout campus, Millbrook School knew it needed an important new center if it were to unify the arts and elevate them to full academic status.

The design for the Holbrook Arts Center clearly communicates the significance of the arts while at the same time paying homage to the school’s agrarian roots and historic buildings. It establishes stature through its brick facade. Reflecting the appearance of the nearby Mill and Barn buildings, it also features clapboard siding and exposed structure.

The experience of walking through the brick facade into the lobby feels like finding a surprising outdoor space.  It is lit via skylight and detailed with clapboards like those found on the exterior facade. The effect is of being transported imaginatively, evoking the creative work that will occur in the spaces. The mass of the building is hidden by tucking into the grade and sloping the roots toward the square central volume of the theater. The 300-seat amphitheater inside is wrapped by the music, dance, art studios, and photo lab. A formal art gallery and 2D studio, which flank the formal lobby, both benefit from the northern exposure.

Landscape completed in association with Andropogon Associates.