college of the holy cross receives cross-shaped arts center by diller scofidio + renfro

holy cross and the arts

Diller Scofidio + Renfro celebrate the completion of the Prior Performing Arts Center at the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts — founded 179 years ago, marking one of the oldest Catholic higher-learning institutions in the United States. The university has progressed greatly over the years. The once all-men, Christian-run school, now sees a co-ed student body and is led by Vincent Rougeau, its first non-clerical and African American president.

Since its founding in 1843, the school has maintained a deep commitment to the arts, and its belief in art as a force for ‘addressing the world’s most pressing concerns,’ empowering students toward positive community change from a local to global scale. The new performing arts center embodies these values, all within a structure of interlocked precast concrete and weathering steel.

west elevation: Public Entry Marquee, Cantor Gallery | image © Iwan Baan

artistic spaces by diller scofidio + renfro

With its Prior Performing Arts Center, the architects at Diller Scofidio + Renfro introduce 84,000 square-feet of built space to the College of the Holy Cross campus. While some studio and performance spaces are highly specialized, others are flexible and encourage engagement and collaboration between students.

The project’s many new spaces include the Luth Concert Hall, a 400-seat proscenium theater; the Boroughs Theatre, a 200-seat flexible studio space; and the relocated Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery. Meanwhile, The Beehive marks a flexible area that encourages creative collaboration between students among all disciplines. In this way, the architecture takes shape as ‘an incubator for multidisciplinary learning and creativity.’

northwest elevation: Arched Entry, Sculpture Court, Large Rehearsal Room, Cantor Gallery | image © Iwan Baan

Charles Renfro, partner at Diller Scofidio + Renfro and lead designer for the performing arts center, comments: ‘The new Prior Performing Arts Center is an uncommon commons. The building is uniquely perched on a hill overlooking the campus and Worcester, yet straddles the intersection of multiple cross-campus paths.

‘While its world-class facilities provide a singular new home for Holy Cross’ performing arts students, its atrium invites the broader student body to participate in casual and unscripted creative activities.

‘The building’s dual identity is also expressed in its materials, which are tough and industrial without sacrificing warmth and comfort. We’re excited for the performing arts center to welcome students and faculty into a new kind of space for Holy Cross—one that puts intersectionality, inclusion, and interdisciplinarity at its heart.’

west elevation: Public Entry Marquee, Cantor Gallery | image © Iwan Baan
Arched Entry with twisting GFRC and weathering steel | image © Iwan Baan

Beehive view from third level looking into Cantor Art Gallery and Media Lab | image © Iwan Baan

view from third level into Beehive | image © Iwan Baan

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Luth Concert Hall seating and custom designed concrete diffusion panels | image © Iwan Baan

Beehive view from first level looking into Scene Shop and rehearsal spaces | image © Iwan Baan

choral performance in Beehive’s second-level bar | image © Brett Beyer

Media Lab | image © Iwan Baan

Studio Theater | image © Iwan Baan

Scene Shop | image © Iwan Baan

large rehearsal studio and terrace overlooking Worcester | image © Iwan Baan

project info:

project title: Prior Performing Arts Center

architecture: Diller Scofidio + Renfro | @diller_scofidio_renfro

location: Worcester, Massachusetts

client: College of the Holy Cross | @collegeoftheholycross

completion: September 2022

photography: © Iwan Baan, @iwanbaan | Brett Beyer, @brettbeyer

partners: Charles Renfro, Elizabeth Diller, Benjamin Gilmartin, Ricardo Scofidio

project director: Miles Nelligan

design team: Jeremy Boon-Bordenave, Emily Vo Nguyen, Tyler Polich, Anthony Saby, Charles Curran, Deniz Haklar, Quy Le,Evan Farley, Ayat Fadaifard

executive architect: Perry Dean Rogers

landscape architect: Olin