Crested Butte Center for the Arts

Crested Butte, CO


This historic mountain community signaled its support for the arts when it built the Center, a vibrant and inviting public arts facility. The intimate character and excellent acoustics of the Center's 320-seat theater are primarily due to the extensive use of wood. Curved and faceted acoustical wood reflectors direct sound and can be custom-tuned for music and spoken-word performances. A gallery, art studios, and rehearsal rooms surround a double-height lobby that combines massive wood structural members, textured copper, and floor-to-ceiling glass walls to create a warm and welcoming space. The design team made creative use of wood structural systems, including glulam columns, LVL rafters, the lobby's unique wood-and-steel 3D space-truss system, and an entry canopy with skewed glulam columns. The blue-stained cedar exterior cladding makes the Center for the Arts one of the most recognizable buildings in town.  


Watch a short one-minute video of this project, which was selected as a 2023 Wood Design Awards winner. View the full award gallery here.

Version History
  • Project uploaded by WoodWorks Innovation Network (WIN) on 03-16-2023
  • Project last updated by WoodWorks Innovation Network (WIN) on 06-10-2024
Project Details
  • Year Built

    2019

  • Number Of Stories

    3

  • Bldg system

    Mass Timber

  • Sq. Meters

    3,251

  • Construction Type:

    V-B

  • Building Type:

    Civic (Recreational)

  • Material Types:

    Mass Timber
    Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT)
    Hybrid (wood with steel or concrete)
    Light-Frame

Project Team
  • Black Dragon Development General Contractor
  • Blue Valley Carpentry Timber Installer/Framer
  • Center for the Arts Developer/Building Owner
  • Resource Engineering Group Structural Engineer
  • Steinberg Hart with Andrew Hadley Architect Architect
Version History
  • Project uploaded by WoodWorks Innovation Network (WIN) on 03-16-2023
  • Project last updated by WoodWorks Innovation Network (WIN) on 06-10-2024
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