Colburn School in Los Angeles Breaks Ground on Campus Expansion

The Colburn School in Los Angeles, Calif., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for a 100,000-square-foot expansion designed by world-renowned architect Frank Gehry, according to a news release. The Colburn School is a music and dance education and performance institute that offers services to people of all ages, from 7-month-olds to adults. The school’s new building, the Colburn Center, will increase the school’s training and performance facilities and stand adjacent to the existing Grand Avenue campus.

“The Colburn Center will be a game changer, stepping up everything we do for the school’s own community, for our peer organizations that make the LA artistic ecosystem so vibrant, and for the public that we look forward to welcoming,” said Colburn School President and CEO Sel Kardan. “At Colburn, making performances accessible to LA audiences is as much a part of our core mission as making first-rate music and dance education available to everyone. These are the same values we see in the wonderful design by Frank Gehry: artistic excellence at the highest level, combined with a deep love for the dynamism and diversity that animate life in a great city.”

According to the news release, the Colburn Center will stand alongside the Walt Disney Concert Hall and The Grand complex—also designed by Gehry—to form the largest concentration of the architect’s work in the world.

Principal design features include a 1,000-seat theater performance space, four studios for dance classes and rehearsal, and other teaching and support facilities, according to a project fact sheet, as well as a natural-light-filled entrance and gardens at street and rooftop levels. All performance and rehearsal spaces were designed to accommodate a wide variety of potential configurations and productions.

“This is a long time coming, and I am so grateful for everyone who helped make it possible,” said Gehry. “For me, this building is very special. It adds significant opportunity for growth in music, music education, and collaboration inside of Colburn and with the other arts institutions in LA. I really believe it will unlock untold riches in the cultural community here in LA and I am honored to be a part of it.”

The Colburn School is partnering with McCarthy Building Companies for the project’s construction, the news release reports.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Image credit: O

    Strategic Campus Assessment: Moving Beyond Reactive Maintenance in Educational Facilities

    While campuses may appear stable on the surface, building systems naturally evolve over time, and proactive assessment can identify developing issues before they become expensive emergencies. The question isn't whether aging educational facilities need attention. It's how institutions can transition from costly reactive maintenance to strategic asset management in a way that protects both budgets and communities.

  • Pittsburgh High School Upgrades Athletics Facilities’ Technology

    Plum Senior High School in Pittsburgh, Penn., recently partnered with South-Dakota-based Daktronics through the We’re All Mustangs Here Foundation to upgrade the technology in its athletics facilities, according to a news release. Daktronics designed, built, and installed new LED video displays and finished the project in time for the beginning of the 2025 high-school football season.

  • Creating Long-Term Sustainability on College Campuses Through Fair Student Housing

    The quality of student housing can have a significant impact on an individual’s college experience. Today’s higher education institutions face mounting challenges, including declining enrollment, low retention rates between the first and second years, and a rise in student mental health concerns. Thoughtfully designed living spaces can help address these issues by creating environments that promote both academic focus and personal well-being.

  • KI Launches K–12 Classroom Furniture Giveaway

    Contract furniture company KI recently announced the launch of its fourth-annual Classroom Furniture Giveaway, which awards $50,000 each to four K–12 educators across the U.S., according to a news release. The goal is to address decreasing student engagement and increasing teacher burnout numbers by updating learning spaces to accommodate modern needs.

Digital Edition