Orchid MUSIC BUILDING FOR MIRA MESA HIGH SCHOOL
Mira Mesa High School has one of the strongest music programs in California with 266 band members and 65 orchestra members. The band participates in multiple on-site and national events throughout the year, including Rose Parade and Carnegie Hall performances. Program success and expansion necessitated a new state-of-the-art facility. As part of campus-wide modernization, vision for the Music Building generated three distinct strategies guiding the design resolution:
- 1. Enhanced Volume and Acoustics for instrumental performance.
- 2. Campus Placement accommodating band access to the adjacent stadium, pedestrian connectivity to the campus core and tractor trailer access for equipment loading.
- 3. Elevate School Spirit with an iconic building exemplifying school identity and vitality of a premier music program
The design highlights two primary high-volume practice rooms, internally formed by angled walls and ceilings acoustically treated for sound deflection and absorption, and externally representative of musical performance. Additionally, strategic integration of natural daylighting enhances light quality without causing disruptive glare for musicians, and a ventilation strategy that includes ‘duct socks’ minimizing undesired sound while optimizing indoor air quality. The band and orchestral group performance rooms are linked by centralized low volume support spaces.
Critical functional requirements included:
- 1. Placement of instrument storage units distributed around main practice rooms to augment flow of many students and their instruments.
- 2. Multiple small rehearsal rooms varying from individual to quartet ensembles.
- 3. Centralized teacher visibility/surveillance throughout the building.
- 4. Entrances expressing welcome, student connectivity to the campus and band member egress to parade staging areas.