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Front entrance of concrete and glass geometric addition to the historic dome temple at Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University Maltz Performing Arts Center

New Arts Center Complements Historic Temple

Project Location

Cleveland, OH

Area

65,000 SF

Certification

LEED V4 BD+C: NC Gold

Awards

AIA Ohio, Merit Award

The Maltz Performing Arts Center is the result of an innovative partnership between The Temple-Tifereth Israel and Case Western Reserve University, which purchased the iconic 1924-synagogue at the edge of campus with the intent to consolidate the university’s music and performing arts programs at one location. The multi-phased project renovated the historic sanctuary to accommodate music performances, lectures, and continued use as a place of worship and gathering and expanded the facility with a sizable addition for the university’s theater and dance departments. Our design for the phase II expansion complements rather than competes with the temple’s distinctive golden-hued dome.

Major program elements reside within largely opaque boxes sheathed in panels of limestone reminiscent of the stonework on the original temple. Stone-faced portions, including lobbies and faculty offices, are separated by sections with floor-to-ceiling glass, creating the effect of a geode – a solid form with a crystalline core.

The 65,000-SF addition contains a 250-seat proscenium theater, a 100-seat black box theater, back-of-house support, front-of-house amenities, classrooms, and faculty offices. This new consolidated home for the university’s theater, music, and dance programs terminates the western edge of CWRU’s Nord Greenway project, visually positioning the performing arts at one end with the Cleveland Museum of Art and the visual arts at the other end of the Greenway.

Awards

2023 Region V Technology Awards: First Place for Public Assemblies, New

ASHRAE

2022 Green Building Challenge

The U.S. Green Building Council

2021 Honor Award for Architecture

AIA Cleveland

2022 AIA Ohio Merit Award: Newly Completed Building

AIA Ohio

Press

In the Media

View from above of glass building connecting modern concrete building to historic building with yellow dome
CWRU Maltz Performing Arts Center Expansion Photo by Kevin G Reeves

Cleveland.com

Performing Arts Center Expansion Creates a Superb Home for Theater, Music, Dance

November 14, 2021

Case Western Reserve University is known widely for its programs in engineering and the sciences, but it can now boast of having a superb home for its programs in music, dance, and theater. The expansion exemplifies the excellence of DLR Group’s acumen in design for the performing arts.

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