Ferguson Center for the Arts wins four architectural awards
News Release - Oct. 12, 2006
Media Contact:
Karen L. Gill
Office of Communications and Public Relations
(757) 594-8428
Louis I. Kahn Award
The November issue of American School & University Magazine names the Ferguson Center for the Arts the 2006 grand prize, post-secondary winner of the Louis I. Kahn Award for education design excellence.
“Stunning! An amazing reuse of an outdated facility. Brings together arts, university and community cultures,” said the judges of the Ferguson Center.
Excellence in Design Architecture
Hampton Roads AIA gave the Ferguson Center the Excellence in Design Award. Jurors said the design was “a sophisticated resolution of various and disparate programmatic elements, creating a number of interesting spaces.”
Prague Quadrennial 2007
The Ferguson Center has been chosen for inclusion in the Prague Quadrennial 2007, an international competitive exhibition of scenography and theater architecture that is organized by the Theatre Institute and will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2007. The competition will be held in June 2007 in the Industrial Palace, Prague, Czech Republic.
“There is no other event like the Prague Quadrennial in the world. The PQ reminds us that theatre is perhaps first and foremost a visual and spatial event,” said Arnold Aronson, professor of theater and head of dramaturgy at Columbia University and commissioner of the event.
Grand Prize
College Planning & Management magazine named the Ferguson Center for the Arts the 2006 Grand Prize Winner in the 7th Annual Education Design Showcase. It is featured in the magazine’s June 2006 edition.
The contest showcases facilities at colleges and universities that help achieve the best possible learning environment for higher education, as well as being responsive to the needs of students and educators.
“It does what a theater is supposed to do,” said the judges about the Ferguson Center for the Arts. “A theater is as much about being seen as it is about being in it. It’s art. It’s great. It’s a nice project.”
The Ferguson Center for the Arts includes a 1,700-seat proscenium theater, a 440-seat proscenium theater, a 200-seat “black box” theater and classroom and support spaces.
It was constructed by Hanbury Evans Wright Vlattas + Company of Norfolk, in association with Pei Cobb Freed & Partners. Its grand opening was in September 2005.
Christopher Newport University is a four-year public university in Newport News, Virginia. CNU enrolls 4,800 students in programs through its College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Luter School of Business and offers great teaching, small classes and an emphasis on leadership, civic engagement and honor. Visit us at www.cnu.edu.