Mesa Arts Center

Mesa Arts Center, Mesa, Arizona

One of the entrance areas

The Mesa Arts Center is a performing and visual arts complex in downtown Mesa, Arizona. At more than 210,000 square feet (20,000 m²) square feet, the $95 million facility, completed in 2005, is the largest comprehensive arts campus in the state.

The Mesa Arts Center encompasses four performance venues, from the intimate 99-seat Farnsworth Studio Theater to the 1,600-seat Ikeda Theater. The center is also home to the Mesa Contemporary Arts, which houses five art galleries with 5,500 sq ft (510 m²) of exhibition space. The facility also features 14 unique visual and performing art classroom studios. Multi-use areas throughout the campus provide both indoor and outdoor gathering and presentation spaces.

Architecture

The architecture of the entire complex is primarily post-modern, with sharp, jagged angles, canted walls, sloping roofs, glass walls, and a reflection of the local vernacular in both colors and materials. The introverted campus is inspired by a geode, and guides pedestrians from the outer concrete walls to a central space of glass, water, and color. The complex was designed by Boora Architects of Portland, Oregon in associations with DWL Architects + Planners, Inc., of Phoenix, Arizona. Martha Schwartz Inc. served as landscape architect for the project.

External links

Media related to Mesa Arts Center at Wikimedia Commons

• Mesa Arts Center website
• Mesa Arts Center project a Boora Architects website

Coordinates: 33°24′50″N 111°49′50″W / 33.4140°N 111.8305°W / 33.4140; -111.8305