Firehouse Center for the Arts
Firehouse Center for the Arts
Newburyport, Massachusetts
The City of Newburyport and a regional non-profit arts organization engaged Schwartz/Silver to design a community arts center in an 1801 Lyceum building most recently used as a firehouse. The program called for a 200 seat professional theater, together with an art gallery and a cafe. An addition to the rear of the building, modern in design and yet sympathetic enough to the architectural heritage of the city to be a part of it, establishes itself as a second front to the building, presiding over a public park and the Merrimack River waterfront.
Recognition
National Honor Award, American Institute of Architects
Merit Award, AIA New England Regional Council
Honor Award, Boston Society of Architects
“In the old fire station’s latest reincarnation, as a center for the arts, Schwartz/Silver has developed a strong architectural dialogue between old and new, illustrating that the most appropriate preservation acknowledges the changing process of design. ”
Collaborators
Owner's Project Representative: Richard Beatty
Structural Engineer: LeMessurier Consultants
Mechanical, Plumbing, Electrical Engineer: McCarron, Hufnagle & Bent, Inc.
Preservation: Preservation Technology Associates
Theater Consulting: Theater Projects Consultants
General Contractor: Castagnia Construction
