“The building is very much meant to be a special place on the landscape and is heavily shaped to local conditions, including the need to reduce solar gain and provide shaded outdoor space,” said project architect Matthew Lella.
Canadian firm Diamond Schmitt Architects has announced the construction of a concert hall dedicated to American musician Buddy Holly on what would have been his 80th birthday .
Courtesy of Diamond Schmitt Architects
Diamond Schmitt Architects has designed the building as a tribute to the artist, and to fit into its setting on the Llano Estacado desert plains.
The structure will contain a 2,200-seat main theatre, an additional 400-seat auditorium, a 5,000-square-foot (465-square-metre) multi-purpose room and a 22,000-square-foot (2,045-square-metre) dance centre.
A generous lobby space is also designed to host performances. “Either for pre-show entertainment or programming outside regular theatre hours helps activate the space as a destination throughout the day,” Lella said.
Courtesy of Diamond Schmitt Architects
The main auditorium will sit in the tallest section at the centre of the building. Its lower tier of sloped seating will be removable so that the venue can also accommodate standing room for concerts.
The rest of the structure will wrap the outside of the central volume and extend at one end to form an entrance canopy.
“The fenestration has allowed long, horizontal views to the landscape to capture the beauty of the sky, which seems to go on forever and is continuously changing colour and mood,” said Lella.
Courtesy of Diamond Schmitt Architects
“The long shallow slope on the main roof at the entrance is inspired by the angle of repose of the local soil.”
“Buddy Holly Hall will be a world-class performing arts facility whose design beautifully captures the essence of the West Texas landscape and heritage,” said LEPAA board chairman Tim Collins.
Construction on the privately funded building, expected to cost $125 million (£93 million), is predicted to begin this autumn.
Isabelle Laurent is a Built Projects Editor at Arch2O, recognized for her editorial insight and passion for contemporary architecture. She holds a Master’s in Architectural Theory from École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Paris-Belleville. Before joining Arch2O in 2016, she worked in a Paris-based architectural office and taught as a faculty adjunct at the École Spéciale d’Architecture in Paris. Isabelle focuses on curating projects around sustainability, adaptive reuse, and urban resilience. With a background in design and communication, she brings clarity to complex ideas and plays a key role in shaping Arch2O’s editorial