Located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the sparkling new 55-million dollar Shaw Center for the Arts is the realization of a community that understands how visual and performing arts stimulate the personal and economic growth of a city. After years of planning, extensive fundraising and thousands of hours of physical labor, the Shaw Center opened its doors in March 2005.
The American Institute of Architects has named the Shaw Center for the Arts building among its 2008 Honor Award recipients. The Shaw building is among 28 projects chosen from 800 entries for the award. Winners were recognized for excellence in the categories of exterior architecture, interior architecture, and regional and urban design. Thirteen of the winning projects were recognized in the architectural category largely for sustainability. Boston firm Schwartz/Silver Architects designed the Shaw Center project. According to AIA, "the architects combined two primary public venues, the Museum of Art and the performing arts theaters, to form a single structure that cantilevers over the historic rebuilt Auto Hotel. Clad in channel glass and aluminum, the building is designed to withstand major hurricanes, as demonstrated by weathering hurricanes Katrina and Rita shortly after it opened."
Inside the channel-glass skin of the 125,000 square-foot facility resides a stunning art museum, as well as one of the most intimate and acoustically brilliant theatrical spaces in the southern United States. Towering high above the Mississippi River, the fifth floor of the structure houses the LSU Museum of Art in grand fashion. A dramatic museum space, the Museum sprawls the entire length of the Shaw Center, showcasing more than 17,000 square feet of exhibition space. The spacious facility houses touring and permanent collections. Seating 325 people, the Manship Theatre is truly a magical venue for musicians, dancers and actors alike. Designed in the spirit of a London "West End" space, the Manship includes an orchestra level and two balconies, a magnificent audio system, a large fly house and automated orchestra pit. Adjacent to the theatre are two state-of-the-art black box theatres, as well as a spacious contemporary art space "Brunner Gallery", which will feature some of the region's most exciting up and coming artists.
Also located within the Center is the LSU School of Art Gallery, featuring exciting works from the faculty and students of Louisiana State University. Rounding out the Shaw Center is an exciting combination of retail and restaurant destinations, including the LSU Museum Store, PJ's Coffee House and Wine Bar, casual plaza dining space "Capital City Grill" and spectacular rooftop Japanese restaurant "Tsunami".
As education remains at the forefront of the arts movement in Louisiana, the second floor reveals numerous classrooms for art, music and literature, directed by the LSU School of Art as well as the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge's "Community School for the Arts" for local citizens. Inside the heart of the renovated "Auto Hotel" is LSU's L-CAT, or Laboratory for Creative Arts and Technologies, as well as functional office space for the Shaw staff.
The Shaw Center for the Arts is truly an original in every sense of the word...and looks beyond its role as a contemporary landmark to inspire generations of children and families for decades to come.