At Tempe’s Corona del Sol High School, a sand volleyball court is being transformed into an outdoor art gallery.
Located mid-campus, the abandoned court and surrounding area became an eyesore with drainage problems during torrential monsoons, and posed potential health hazards.
Two art teachers—Brynne Evans and Megan Knight—envisioned a more beautiful campus and a permanent showcase for student art. With design and project supervision donated by Tom Brown and John Kane of Tempe-based Architekton, an award-winning architectural design firm, the idea for an environmentally friendly and sustainable structure is taking shape.
The first phase was completed during the summer. Sand was removed, drainage pumps installed and a concrete foundation laid. A concrete platform was built for staging performance art, dance, drama and music productions.
Originality and sustainability are hallmarks of Architekton.
Working with recycled materials and incorporating an open design ensures that functionality and aesthetics are balanced with cost effectiveness.
Evans and Knight note that the concrete area can be hosed clean and the openness precludes air conditioning. Gesturing toward the concrete’s perimeter, Evans says, “Those are reclaimed bricks from another campus renovation. They’re part of our fundraiser, ‘Leave Your Mark with the Arts,’ and can be personalized.”
The second phase is shown in an architectural rendering.
Tall, evenly spaced steel rods, forming picket-like partitions, hold Plexiglas cases for artwork. Although solar lighting is primary, electrical outlets allow sound systems, special stage lighting and technology applications. Three canvas sails float over the pavilion, providing shade and weather protection, as well as creating shadow patterns—what Frank Lloyd Wright called “eye music.”
Concrete benches will provide seating, encouraging informal chats, as well as supervised classroom research and assignments. For example, math, science and sustainability classes might examine the unique design of the structure and its cost effectiveness or study the solar lighting or analyze wind speed to test the shade sails. English classes might create poetry or write essays on sustainability or perhaps compare and contrast the pavilion and adjacent brick buildings. Social science classes may discuss community responsibility, green building, and ecological stewardship. Other classes might be encouraged to interpret the structure through music and dance.
However, before this second phase can proceed, the Fine Arts Department must raise $30,000 for materials. It’s a daunting task, and community support is much needed and appreciated.
Students have designed T-shirts proclaiming, “I Heart Art.” The fundraising campaign, “Leave Your Mark with the Arts” is underway, too. Continuing the theme of “reuse and recycle,” reclaimed bricks will be inscribed and personalized by Striking Stone, a Phoenix company.
The $50 Crown bricks have been installed around the gallery perimeter and the $100 Aztec bricks will surround the center stage.
“This will be a space that showcases and inspires our visual arts students,” said Evans, noting that the fundraiser “allows everyone to be included in the project.”
And the final phase? Evans smiled, “We’re targeting May for an inaugural student art show.”
Information: Corona del Sol Outdoor Art Gallery Facebook page or www.tempeunion.org.
