Folsom Lake College Harris Center for the Arts

Folsom, CA

Winner of several Project of the Year awards, the Harris Center for the Arts is as structurally complex as it is theatrically exceptional. The facility was described by DSA Principal Structural Engineer Jim Hackett as “the most complex structure ever submitted to DSA Sacramento to date” and contains three separate stages. Stage One is an 850-seat main theater that is reminiscent of the Globe Theater in London, Stage Two is a 210-seat studio-style theater, and Stage Three is a 110-seat recital hall. The architect’s vision for these theaters was that each stage would be unique, so Buehler worked intensely with the architectural team to custom design each space to maintain the envisioned sight lines and acoustics. The large amount of open space made developing an earthquake-resilient load path challenging, however our team was able to work within the constraints of the fly tower dictating the building’s lateral capabilities and accomplished the design intent of the architect. In addition to student performances, the center regularly hosts regional acts by traveling artists.