Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

California High School Debuts $35M Performing Arts Center

  • By Matt Jones
  • 03/04/25

Irvine High School in Irvine, Calif., recently opened its new Performing Arts Center built in partnership with C.W. Driver Companies, according to a news release. The facility cost $35 million and covers about 25,000 square feet. Construction began in January 2023, and the grand opening celebration took place on Feb. 7, 2025.

Amenities include a 650-seat main theater with upgraded sound, lighting, and rigging capabilities; a black box theater; dressing rooms; a scene shop; and central lobby, the news release reports.

“We have envisioned this facility for years, and it’s truly exciting to see it come to life,” said Kelvin Okino, Irvine Unified School District’s Executive Director of Facilities and Construction. “Through the voter’s passage of Bond Measure E, we were able to construct a new state-of-the art Performing Arts Center. The success of the project is a testament to the incredible collaboration and partnership we’ve had with C.W. Driver Companies throughout this process. Together, we’ve created a space that will empower creativity and serve our community for generations to come.”

Materials used include a steel and metal frame diaphragm building and a combination of metal panels, plaster, and curtain walls, according to the news release. The construction process incorporated sustainability techniques like irrigation, deep soil mixing, and landscape planning. The facility will play home to a wide range of student performances, rehearsals, and school events.

“We are honored to have worked on such a world-class performing arts center, which will serve as a beacon of creativity and collaboration for students throughout the district and the Irvine greater community,” said C.W. Driver Companies Project Manager Ashcon Hekmat.

About the Author

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

Featured

  • Arlington High School

    Arlington High School

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. Arlington High School has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Grand Prize award in the category of New Construction.

  • Texas Recruitment

    Texas Recruitment

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. The University of Texas at Austin's Texas Recruitment has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Grand Prize award in the category of Renovation.

  • Higher Ed is Betting on New Buildings While Quietly Undermining Their Campuses — Here’s Why

    In this climate, the owner’s representative has changed from a delivery-focused advisor to a strategic campus partner. Institutions are increasingly relying on owner’s reps not just to manage, cope, schedule, and budget, but also help evaluate whether a project should proceed at all.

  • Designing for Every Mind

    Learning environments have the power to shape not just what students know, but who they become. When a school is designed with genuine empathy—for the full range of ways students think, sense, and engage with the world—it becomes more than a building. It becomes a catalyst for growth, confidence, and belonging. That is the animating idea behind neurodiverse design, and it is one that is transforming how more architects and designers are thinking about school design.