(LOS ANGELES, October 27, 2021) – Following a private groundbreaking ceremony that was also broadcast live to the public on September 30, the new fine arts building at Allan Hancock College’s Santa Maria campus is officially under construction. DLR Group’s design brings together programs that are currently scattered across campus into a single complex, promotes cross-disciplinary learning opportunities, and connects the arts with the broader campus and community.

The complex is designed to meet the robust ambitions of the second largest academic program on campus. It includes a 400-seat performance space and music lab, dance rehearsal rooms, ceramics studios, band and choral rehearsal rooms, recording studios, painting studios, graphic design studios, film classroom and screening room, photography labs, and digital media. The heart of the facility is a two-story central gathering space and courtyard that exposes the arts to the campus and creates intellectual loitering zones to encourage cross-discipline creativity and pollination.

Once complete in fall 2022, the 88,000 SF building will be the largest facility on campus. The $48 million project is funded through a combination of monies from the state of California, Measure I bonds, and a donor gift.