Center of Culture
by K. Robert Wendel

Hispanic influence has shaped and formed New Mexico since the first conquistadores set foot in the region more than 400 years ago.

A new theater celebrating and highlighting that influence - the Roy E. Disney Center for the Performing Arts - recently opened its doors in Albuquerque after local general contractor Gerald Martin Construction put the finishing touches on the building. The New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, Hispanic Cultural Division, owns the $22 million facility. Disney donated a substantial amount of money to fund project.

Work on the project started in September 2002 with excavation, but problems arose when the project architect, FMSM of Albuquerque, shuttered its doors.

FMSM architect Alex Griego brought the project with him to Albuquerque's Dekker/Perich/Sabatini, which finished the project.

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"We were fortunate that we were able to keep the whole design team together," Griego said. "It was a fairly smooth transition and we got up and running again very quickly."

The 78,446-sq.-ft. performing arts facility fulfills a wide range of purposes for the community. The center mainly functions as a venue for the performing arts. In addition to the 680-seat theater with orchestra pit and a 300-seat video theater. Two large rehearsal rooms for both dance and theater are available for public use, along with dressing rooms, a green room and backstage space.

The stage is the largest in New Mexico.

"The auditorium is the incredible part," said project manager Bob Cardenas. "The design of the balconies and how they got the number of seats in there with the space they had is amazing."

The project borrows some of its architectural vocabulary from the Hispanic Cultural Center's first phase, which has an Aztec flavor. Architects used the theme of ancient temples in construction of the second phase, which borrows from Mayan architecture.
Architects employed earthy tones throughout the performing arts center, which sits across from the Hispanic Cultural Center.

The project features an extensive, state-of-the-art audio-visual system.

"It's amazing the amount of wire they have running through here," said assistant supervisor Michael Berg of Gerald Martin.

Designers employed local artisans to create the interior, which features rusticated copper used in the ceilings, doors, light sconces and chandeliers in a contemporary interior design.

"The interior on this project is a totally contemporary adoption of Spanish and Mexican influences as well as Southwestern influence," Griego said. "We didn't have an interior design group because we wanted to bring the artisans in and allow them to express themselves."

The site's location near the Rio Grande meant a high water table, and that forced contractors to constantly dewater the construction area. Because of the high water table, the performing arts center sits on more than 400-drilled piers, each sunk 70 ft. deep. Each pier is 2 -ft. in diameter.

The orchestra pit sits below the water table, which added some construction hurdles.

"Many of the auger cast pilings are designed for uplift," said Scott Heatly, a principal with Chavez Grieves Consulting Engineers Inc. of Albuquerque. He added that the "buoyancy wants to lift the orchestra pit out of the ground, so the piles act as soil nails instead of taking a vertical load."

A 2-ft.-thick, 90-ft.-tall concrete fly tower sits on the pad, with the rest of the building framed with structural steel, metal studs and covered with stucco.

"One of the biggest challenges was pouring the 2-ft. thick concrete walls 90-ft. in the air," said Don Gorenz, Gerald Martin's general superintendent.

Hughes and Associates of Albuquerque erected more than 200 tons of steel. The 90-ft. fly tower was poured in lifts of 15 in. to 18 in. and topped with a grid of narrow steel channels.

"There's a lot of load that is induced onto the walls by the arbor and the theater systems," Heatly said. "There's a large horizontal thrust on top of the fly tower, so it was much easier to take the load out with the concrete sheer walls."

Three boilers and two chillers supply heating and cooling. There is also a large cooling tower.

The mechanical systems are attenuated for sound, especially in the performing arts areas. As with many performing arts centers, space was always at a premium.

"It was really tight in the mechanical room," said project manager Tom Skopayko of Albuquerque's Ashcroft Mechanical Inc. "It was like stuffing 10 lbs. of manure into a 5-lb. bag."

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