A Performing Arts Center expansion connects Marquardt Middle School’s (Glendale Heights, Illinois) sixth and seventh/eighth grade buildings to create a unified campus. A redesigned curriculum allows all students to experience art, music, and drama.
Multifunctional facility unites campus, bridges disciplines, and supports career-focused curriculum
The Marquardt Performing Arts Center (PAC) connects Marquardt Middle School’s sixth and seventh/eighth grade buildings to create a unified campus. The 33,000-square-foot facility features a 500-seat auditorium and a STEAM lab, as well as rooms for art, choir, orchestra, and for the first time, drama.
A slender wall of terra-cotta panels embraces the auditorium and carries through into the glass-enclosed lobby space. At night, the illuminated lobby and the curving wall glowing with colorful LED lights draw attention to performances. Perforated wood clouds wrap the auditorium, equipped with LED lighting and advanced audiovisual systems.
Sealed concrete floors, exposed ceilings, writable glass surfaces, and pendant LED lighting give the STEAM lab an industrial feel.
A parking lot transforms into a landscaped courtyard with a fountain. Audiences gather in the courtyard before or after performances, or students in the adjacent art rooms use the courtyard for inspiration for their projects.
The facility supports a redesigned curriculum in which every student takes exploratory courses. The resulting performance, problem-solving, and teamwork skills not only build student confidence for high school but also translate to success in college and the workforce.
This project was designed in partnership with Slingshot Architecture.
Project Awards
Honorable Mention, Exhibition of Educational Environments, Illinois Association of School Boards
Students are getting opportunities to manage projects and their own learning experience, which will extend into whatever career paths they take.
Dr. Meredith Haugens, Assistant Superintendent, Human Resources, Marquardt District 15
