2014 BOY Winner: Performing Arts

Sometimes it’s possible to build a poem. Principal Kunihide Oshinomi gave his evocative, futuristic architectural shapes for this conservatory a pair of unexpected names that refer to natural formations. Red Cliff, containing staff offices, sports three fiery shades of square ceramic tile on the exterior. A glass canopy joins that 9,600-square-foot structure to the project’s centerpiece, Silver Mountain—actually more of a blob than a peak. Its exterior is clad in shining stainless-steel plates laid out in Rhinoceros software to equalize the module sizes. Inside, a deep-blue foyer introduces the dramatically cavelike 30,800 square feet. Remaining space is divided into three rehearsal rooms, where wave formations on the concrete walls control reverberations produced by the budding musicians, ranging from kindergarten to graduate level.