Field Arts & Events Hall at the Port Angeles Waterfront Center

Port Angeles, WA, USA

Photo © Lara Swimmer/Esto

Drawing © LMN Architects

arkkitehdit: LMN Architects

Location: 201 W. Front Street, 98362 Port Angeles, WA, USA
Year: 2023
Client: Port Angeles Waterfront Center
Team: Julie Adams, Dean Clark, Michael Day, Alese Van Holland, Cameron Irwin, Euiseok Jeong, John Lim, Sonja Miranda, Christopher Patterson, Wendy Pautz, Todd Schwisow, George Shaw, Justin Schwartzhoff, Masako Wada
Acoustical Consultant: Jaffe Holden
Civil Engineer: Zenovic & Associates
MEP Engineering: Stantec
Envelope Consultant: Morrison Hershfield
General Contractor: Mortenson
Landscape Architect: Walker Macy
Lighting Design: FMS
Owner's Representative: Vanir Construction Management, Inc.
Structural Engineer: Swenson Say Faget
Theater/AV Consultant: The Shalleck Collaborative

Field Arts & Events Hall is a new performing arts and community gathering space on the city’s waterfront. The project celebrates local and regional artists, facilitates cultural enrichment in the area, and adds a new point of interest for visitors, entrepreneurs, and the local community. Adjacent to historic downtown Port Angeles, the building supports numerous arts organizations while enriching the lives of the broader community.

The building includes a 500-seat multi-purpose performance hall designed to accommodate orchestral music, dance, dramatic theater, and amplified music events and festivals. The intimate, highly flexible multi-purpose theater is designed to optimize a wide range of artistic performances by local and regional arts groups. A second level conference center with sweeping views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca creates an event destination unique to Port Angeles and the North Peninsula, with a 250-seat banquet capacity. Dressing rooms and other backstage spaces, a catering kitchen, and an administrative suite support building operations. A fine art gallery, conference center, and coffee shop complement the performance space and welcome visitors for a variety of activities throughout the year.

Port Angeles’ history and ecosystem are celebrated by the building’s design, giving users a chance to engage with the town’s culture and geography, while the building’s architectural gestures embrace the spectacular natural environment. Visitors arrive at a street level urban entry, progressing up a feature stair where they are met by panoramic views of the Olympic Mountains and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

The cities’ history in the timber industry is represented by wood accents and natural materials throughout the building. A curtain wall constructed of regionally sourced timber mullions offers a 270-degree wrap-around view in the multi-level lobby and conference spaces. The wood lobby ceiling provides a sense of warmth in the public spaces in combination with integrated lighting that mimics the sunlight reflecting off the water adjacent to the site.

Located where the mountains meet the sea, born of local ambition and persistence, and showcasing the local businesses and creative talents of the region, Field Arts & Events Hall will be a cultural hub in Port Angeles and the North Olympic Peninsula for decades to come.