Tempe Center for the Arts (TCA) is a publicly owned performing and visual arts center in Tempe, Arizona. It opened in September 2007 and houses a 600-seat proscenium theater, a 200-seat studio theater and a 3,500-square-foot gallery. Its Lakeside Room seats 200 and overlooks Tempe Town Lake, with views of the Papago Buttes and Camelback Mountain.

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Tempe Center for the Arts

Exterior view of venue from the Salt River (c.2011)
Address	700 W Rio Rio Salado Pkwy Tempe, AZ 85281-5293
Location	Metro Phoenix
Owner	City of Tempe
Capacity	600 (Theater) 275 (Studio) 219 (Lakeside)
Construction
Broke ground	2004
Opened	September 7, 2007 (2007-09-07)
Construction cost	$65 million ($93.3 million in 2021 dollars[1])
Architect	Architekton Barton Myers
Project manager	Kitchell
Structural engineer	Arup Group
Services engineer	Stantec
General contractor	Okland Construction
Website
Venue Website

Architecture

The building was designed by Barton Myers Associates of Los Angeles and Architekton of Tempe.[2][3] A citizens group, formed in 1998, spearheaded a ballot initiative to create an arts center. The resulting increase in the sales tax of 0.1% was used to fund seed money for the management, design, and construction of the facility.

At the entrance, environmental designer Ned Kahn uses 8,000 embedded marbles and tiny mirrors to create a shimmery sunlit effect at the Center’s marquee. He echoes this shimmering effect on the west wall of the Lakeside room where an array of mirrors captures and digitizes the available light reflecting off the Center’s negative edge pool.[1]

Unlike most theaters, this lobby is open to the public without a ticket and becomes a popular gathering place that brings art and community together while enhancing the Tempe landscape, promoting positive quality of life issues related to sustainability, recreation, and culture.[1]

A management firm (Kitchell CEM) was selected by the city government to oversee a three-phase design competition, leading to the selection of the design team in 2000. Following public input, the design was completed in 2003. Construction began in April 2004 and took 40 months. The Center was completed in August 2007, with a grand opening on September 9, 2007.

The Center features a roof made of complex geometric folded plates. The roof is visible from the surrounding freeways and the man-made Tempe Town Lake, which occupies the natural watercourse of the Salt River, immediately adjacent to the site. It is also visible by many airplanes landing at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, two miles west of the building.

Five public art pieces were included in the design:

• Entry Marquee[4] – Ned Kahn
• Fireplace[5]– trueNorth - Mayme Kratz and Mark Ryan
• Fountain Reflections[6] – Ned Kahn
• Lobby Carpet[7] – Ramona Saskiestewa
• Aurora[8] - Brower Hatcher

The Center includes the Gallery at TCA, a visual arts gallery featuring free exhibits of two- and three-dimensional artwork by local and internationally recognized artists.

Current Residents Artists

• Arizona Wind Symphony
• Black Theatre Troupe (Guest Artists)
• Bridge Initiative: Women in Theatre
• Childsplay
• CONDER/dance
• Desert Dance Theatre
• Hayden's Ferry Chamber Music Series
• Lakeshore Music
• Scottsdale Musical Theatre Company
• Stray Cat Theatre
• Tandem Duo
• Tempe Comedy
• Tempe Symphony Orchestra
• Tempe Winds

Past Resident Artists

Home to city-produced programs:

• Songwriters' Showcase
• In the Spotlight
• Tempe Poetry in April
• Art After Work
• Finally Friday

Photo gallery

• 
  Photo on the outside of the Lakeside looking across the reflecting pond known as Mare Undarum – Sea of Waves.
• 
  Photo of the lobby looking east.
• 
  Photo of the lobby looking west.
• 
  Photo of the lobby carpet design called Agua Corriente, looking down from the third floor.
• 
  Photo looking at the East side of the building exterior.
• 
  Photo looking at the West side of the building exterior.
• 
  TCA Exterior
• 
  Bridge outside TCA
• 
  Outside TCA Theater
• 
  Sunset at TCA
• 
  TCA Theater

See also

• List of concert halls

Notes

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tempe Center for the Arts.

• Official website
• Tempe Center for the Arts / Architekton, ArchDaily