McGillin Architecture Inc. :: 610.664.6577

DARLINGTON FINE ARTS CENTER
Concord Township, Pennsylvania

Darlington Fine Arts Center, a not for profit community arts school, was offered a seven acre site adjacent to a new residential subdivision in Concord Township, PA, as part of the developer’s open space agreement with the township. The design challenge was to maintain the open, rural character of the old farmstead and the agrarian history of the area, a once common landscape rapidly being lost to residential development.

The proposed plan for the campus interprets the agricultural idiom with a collection of independent forms, reminiscent of farm buildings, organized along a linear spine behind the existing farmhouse. In both form and siting, the arts center recalls the rural history as it brings new purpose to the site.

Phase I includes:

  Painting Studio with northern light exposure and skylights
  Ceramics Studio with kiln room and skylights
  11 sound isolated rooms for music instruction
  1,100 square foot dance studio
  Administrative office suite

Phase I, construction completed 2002: 7,000 square feet

Phase II to include:

  1,800 square foot, 180 seat theater
  1,950 square foot Stage with fly space
  Scene shop
  Dressing rooms
  Projection/Sound Control booth
  (2) Practice/rehearsal rooms
  Lobby/pre-function space with concession stand

Phase II, construction date to be determined: 9,000 square feet

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