The Performing Arts Center is a 31,000-square-foot facility on the campus of Menlo Atherton High School. The auditorium features unique tree-like structural canopies at the entrance lobby and the back of the building. These tree-like canopies are also the main gravity supports for the roof structure in these areas. The inside of the auditorium is of ornate architectural acoustic screens in the box boom areas. The acoustic screen is constructed using a patterned cut MDF panel/cloth backing supported by thin wall structural tubing. The cuts through the MDF panels depict a “leafy tree branch” pattern when illuminated from behind during the theatrical performances and serve also as an acoustical screen.
Photo Credit: Ken Schroeder