Location:

Belle Glade, FL

Size:

3,000 SF

Status:

Completed 1996

Song + Associates designed a new 3,000 SF lobby addition to the existing 500-seat Dolly Hand Cultural Arts Center Theater at the Palm Beach Community College Belle Glade Campus. The design objective was to create a multifunctional space that would give a new identity to the existing building and a strong sense of arrival for the patrons visiting the facility. Utilizing the basic rectangular shape of the existing theater as a backdrop, the design concept incorporates simple geometric forms to provide a glass-enclosed space that will allow for natural light and a sense of openness during the day and a dramatically illuminated space at night to serve as a community focal point.

The barrel-shaped standing seam copper roof is penetrated by the 20’ high arched entry element that continues along the axis of the space, leading directly to the theater seating. The interior space, adjacent to the arch, incorporates multipurpose lighting systems to allow maximum flexibility of functions from art displays to conferences to theatrical receptions.