Vista School

Summarize the project's program, features, and achievements: Masterfully blending academics, arts, and technology, into one amazing facility for pre-school through high school students, it is no surprise that the Vista Public Charter School in Ivin’s, Utah has a waiting list of hundreds of prospective students. The new 40,000 square foot expansion seems to capture and accentuate the naturally picturesque surrounding rockscape using varied textures, colors, and forms of architectural exposed tilt-up walls. The quality and craftsmanship allow the exterior walls to blend into interior spaces providing an appropriate structure for the surprisingly sophisticated performing arts theater, scene shop, maker’s space, robotics lab, choral room, and dance studio. Not only was tilt-up the perfect architectural expression, it was also budget friendly and provides a lifetime finish with virtually no future maintenance. The sophisticated 510-seat auditorium boasts a fly loft, extensive catwalk system, and state-of-the-art sound system, all accented with over 440 sleek radius birch wood panels creating acoustic sensitive angles and gentle radius clouds that create a collegiate-level performing arts space.

Please communicate any engineering complexities or unique features of the panel design for this project. ? Located directly adjacent to the existing building, the expansion places the grand proscenium theater at the heart of the school. The exterior is clad in concrete tilt-up panels that are colored to reflect the surrounding lava rock and desert landscape. The large glazed lobby is placed along the north elevation to capture the stunning mountain views to the north while minimizing heat gain.

What is the potential for this project's impact on the community and/or environment? Vista School is an award-winning public charter school that blends academics, arts and technology into one amazing educational environment. The school is home to students from kindergarten to ninth grade. This tuition-free school has a waiting list of hundreds of prospective students each year; the school’s expansion allows for increased enrollment from preschool to high school grades and room to boost its arts and technology departments.