US Building of the Week: Wachholz College Center

The Wachholz College Center is a 67,000-square-foot facility that melds two distinct venues that are usually separate — performing arts and athletics — into one grand facility on the Flathead Valley Community College campus in Kalispell, Montana. The project theme: “Music in Motion.” 

The project’s design challenges — or rather opportunities for creativity and invention — involved delivering superior acoustic performance as well as acoustic separation of the different programs, while connecting the two in a natural, harmonious manner. Leveraging the idea of music in motion, the design team worked to ensure all elements of the facility responded to and aligned with this theme — everything from the very visible exterior elements that represent musical scales and piano keys to the smallest interior details, such as balcony railings and wood accents that mirror music vibrations and convey a sense of repetition and rhythm. 

The site itself is another interesting element of the project story, as the facility is built into a steep hill between a pond surrounded by trees and an already existing parking lot on campus. The ability to utilize the parking lot (performances tend to be in the evening, while classes are during the day) was a significant benefit of the location and building into the hillside kept the front entrance of the facility at a scale that fits in with the rest of the buildings on campus. The “wow” factor happens when you walk in through the front entrance and experience the interior volume and descend into the lower-level theater. The site also provided the opportunity to utilize the topography for the outdoor amphitheater at the back of the building with stepped seating that looks out toward a forested area and a pond.

The two primary spaces (performance hall and gymnasium) are made of massive pre-stressed concrete panels. The concrete panels not only provide high-quality acoustics, but also a solid structure with durable finishes. Additionally, the project boasts large ductwork to create low-volume air for better acoustics. To solve for the issue of sound separation between the programs, the design team utilized an acoustic isolation joint with isolation pads that support the balcony-level bridges between the two venues. These engineering features act to split the building in half and separate the spaces acoustically.