Boora Architects

The Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center opened in the fall of 2011.  It serves the performing arts needs of Midland and Odessa, Texas and functions as a performance, convocation and education venue for the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. The architectural design of the new center is rooted in the landscape of West Texas, inspired by its geologic strata and its endless skies.

Challenged by civic leaders and the university administration to bring the communities of Midland and Odessa together to share a new a performing arts center with the university, Boora’s design team searched for the essential qualities that define the region. Two elements emerged: the ancient rock strata containing the largest deposit of oil in the US and the endless high sky. The former is the source of the region’s petroleum economy, while the latter evokes the community’s optimistic outlook engendered by a history of oil prospecting.

The architecture is formed conceptually by the two elements - strata and sky. The walls of rough-hewn local limestone dramatically rise from the Earth like heaving rock layers, while gleaming volumes containing the performance venues are clad in stainless steel to reflect and merge with the colors and patterns of the dynamic sky. The result is a structure that looms on the horizon with a scale responsive to the powerful West Texas landscape.

Lifting the mass of the limestone wall heightens the dramatic arrival experience and reinforces the lobby’s connection with the public entry plaza. The perforations of the wall offer glimpses of activity in the lobby and views of the dynamic sky while filling the interior with light.

A shared lobby supports the Wagner Noël Center’s main multi-use performance hall and its flexible recital hall.  The lobby will itself serve multiple functions, offering a gathering space for use during performances while also providing adequate clear space for banquets and other special events, served by a catering kitchen and cocktail service stations. Drink ledges made of illuminated resin occur at the railings, and benches integrated into the windows allow patrons a variety of comfort provisions.

The 1800-seat multi-purpose hall has the flexibility to accommodate performances ranging from symphony concerts to rock shows, from touring Broadway productions to ballet. The university’s academic uses of the space will include lectures, convocations and other large campus gatherings. Variable acoustic elements include a demountable orchestra shell, a retractable acoustic canopy, acoustic reflectors at the ceiling and 9,000 square feet of adjustable acoustic drapery. An underfloor air distribution system provides climate control that uses significantly less energy while reducing acoustical interference from a traditional fan system.

The recital hall features world-class acoustics for intimate performances, yet its retractable telescoping riser seating allows the space to convert to a flat-floor venue for lectures, banquets and meetings. An adjacent recording suite allows student and professional productions to be captured for distribution. Skylights at the ceiling allow daylight to wash down the room’s sculptural acoustic panels and flood the space with light.