Performing Arts Complex to Impact Future Generations
The $88 million project is part of the Houston Independent School District’s voter-approved 2012 bond program, which calls for the renovation or rebuilding of 40 schools including 29 high schools in the district.
HOUSTON—The campus on Houston Independent School District’s new Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts officially opened its doors to students when they returned from winter break earlier this week. A grand opening is scheduled for February 4.
The 168,000-square-foot replacement school located near Houston’s renowned Theater District features specialized performance and fine arts spaces to enhance the artistic environment of the school. The project is designed to accommodate 750 students specializing in the arts disciplines, including theater, writing, music, visual arts and dance.
The $88 million project is part of the school district’s voter-approved 2012 bond program, which calls for the renovation or rebuilding of 40 schools including 29 high schools across the district. Once all work is complete, the district will boast of one of the most modern portfolios of urban high schools in the nation.
McCarthy Building Companies Inc. served as the construction manager at-risk and collaborated with the design team, Gensler, from the beginning of the project to ensure the vision of the school came to life. Other project partners were Cardno Haynes Waley (structural engineer), Ensight Inc. (structural engineer) and Shaw Smith Associates (MEP). The project broke ground in February 2016, topped out in May 2017 and was completed in August 2018.
In October 2016, the nonprofit organization, HSPVA Friends, launched a capital campaign to bridge the gap between the bond funding and the school’s specific needs. The Kinder Foundation committed a $7.5 million donation in exchange for the school’s naming rights.
The five-story building features a front entrance with double-high glass windows and a wide stairwell, 800-seat main theater with a balcony, dance and music studios, 150-seat recital hall, 200-seat theater, 190-seat black box theater, rehearsal rooms, modern outdoor dining area, two levels of underground parking and an outdoor roof terrace. The project is targeting LEED Silver certification.
“We didn’t just build a state-of-the-art school. We built a performing arts complex that will impact future artists for generations to come,” said Jim Stevenson, McCarthy Houston division president.
The location of the new school posed several logistical and construction challenges for the McCarthy team. Located in the middle of downtown Houston, the site space was tight and had little to no available storage capacity around the building and deliveries required pinpoint scheduling. These challenges also added an enhanced focus on safety for workers, surrounding traffic and pedestrians. Other challenges were the design including numerous floorplan finishes and coordination of specialty subcontractors on the job site. Integrating the theater equipment, acoustical materials/equipment, rigging, theatrical lighting, A/V and fiber backbones, catwalks, etc., into the structure and coordinated model is not common for typical commercial construction.
Further, McCarthy incorporated methods LEAN principles and building information modeling during construction to maintain quality on the job site, and save time and money. BIM helped create virtual reality models allowing Kinder staff to see the building before construction and assist in decision making.
“The design of building enclosure and interior features different materials,” Stevenson tells GlobeSt.com. “The design of the school’s exterior/skin required various materials that must be married. Concrete masonry unit, bricks, window systems that tie into metal panels that tie back into the brick. Teams had to ensure the building enclosure made up of dissimilar materials is water tight. McCarthy created building mock-ups to ensure all the different materials and finishes came together true to architect’s vision.”
McCarthy has a longstanding history of building complex, architecturally significant projects in the entertainment and arts industry. In addition to Kinder, McCarthy’s Texas portfolio of entertainment and institutional projects includes the AT&T Performing Arts Center Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre in Dallas, the Dallas City Performance Hall and the recently completed Glassell School of Art at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston.
Houston’s construction sector had a healthy fourth quarter, delivering 704,800 square feet of new office space, according to CBRE. With deliveries totaling 1.2 million square feet for the year and another 2.2 million square feet under construction, tenants are continuing to show a preference for newly constructed class-A office properties, the CBRE report indicates.