PJHM is proud to announce the Patrick Henry High School Arts, Media and Entertainment Academy is the recipient of the 2013 AIA Orange County Members Choice Award. Given annually, this award is selected not by jury, but by fellow AIA members – our peers. We are honored! We want to thank the American Institute of Architects Orange County, for being the voice of our profession, dedicating themselves to the advocacy of its members and inspiring the quality of the built environment.
Thank you to the San Diego Unified School District and community members for their unwavering support throughout the process, and our deepest appreciation to our fellow AIA members who voted.
The Patrick Henry High School Arts, Media & Entertainment Center and Production Studios (PHAME) is a comprehensive revitalization project seeking to transform the community through collaborative use. The scope includes the addition of a 509-seat Performing Arts Theater and California Career Technical Education funded learning spaces. With plans to provide joint usage with local, private and community college theater and orchestra groups, the Center grants students direct access to professional practice, sparking a much needed district desire for applied learning in the arts. The theater holds full capability to house both musical and theatrical venues. Another major component of PHAME, the Production Studios, are equipped with traditional and digital design and fabrication facilities allowing students and local groups alike to utilize the most current performing arts technology, and provides useful infrastructure for future growth in the arts.
High performance has played a major role in the design of PHAME, both in the technology it houses and in the centers building design as well. The building design currently exceeds qualification of CHPS, California’s high performance school initiative. LED lighting throughout the entire complex, and the use of local and recycled materials clearly makes it the most efficient building on campus, and has helped to set the standard for future expansion.
As an expression of PHAME’s digital fabrication capabilities, the proscenium wall/stage opening has incorporated contemporary technology with an historical twist. The Pantages Theater, a local, and since demolished historical theater from the late ‘20’s, has served as the inspiration for this important theater element. Its rich embellishment, so crucial to the architectural language of the day, is reinterpreted through digital means into the front face of the stage, and allows a bit of history to relive through the filter of today.
This project has been developed along with a whole site modernization and new athletic facilities. Funded by Prop S, Prop Z and love from local community, the Patrick Henry High School Arts, Media & Entertainment Center and Production Studios will become the gateway not only to the campus, but to the growth of dramatic arts in this community.
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