Exterior metal panels complement performing arts center’s maple interior

The 62,000-sf Austin Independent School District Performing Arts Center in the Texas capital offers a 1,200-seat auditorium, 250-seat black box theater, and 100-seat multipurpose room. Its main lobby is created mostly of glass and shows off the vertical maple wood paneling inside. In order to create a cohesive design, Pfluger Associates Architects and Miro Rivera Architects specified PAC-CLAD metal panels on the exterior to complement the maple used in the main entry and lobby.

Two Petersen Aluminum profiles were used in the design of the project: 14,000 sf of PAC-CLAD Flush Panels played a prominent role in cladding the vertical rooftop extension of the auditorium and stage, while approximately 4,000 sf of Petersen’s M-42 Wall Panels in Galvalume Plus were integrated with the glazed curtain walls on the exterior façade.

The 24-gauge panels used for the rooftop extension were finished in Burgundy, Colonial Red, and Terra Cotta to complement the maple used in the auditorium and lobby.

“We wanted the upper, exterior material to appear as an architectural continuation of the maple paneling,” says Jessica Molter, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Project Manager with Pfluger Architects. “You can definitely see that at night when the lobby is illuminated.”