Canterbury Woods Performing Arts Center- New York

*2024 ICF Builder Awards Heavy Commercial 2nd Runner Up and People's Choice Winner*

Innovative art and architecture came together with the new Canterbury Woods Performing Arts Center in Western New York. This 13,000 sq. ft. venue allows up to 250 guests to enjoy live entertainment including theater, music, dance, lectures and more.

At the onset of project planning, it was paramount that the building not only meet certain aesthetic goals, but also be sustainable, energy-efficient and accessible.

The unique parabolic design was achieved by building with insulated concrete forms (ICFs) from Nudura. There are no straight walls or conventional corners used. According to the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, the Canterbury Woods Performing Arts Center is the largest ICF structure built with primarily radius walls in the state of New York.

The design/build team selected ICFs for the exterior load-bearing walls as they were found to be more versatile and economical in constructing the rounded walls compared to conventional cast-in-place concrete forming systems. Nudura’s curved ICF blocks, also known as radius forms, were custom-made for the project and pre-cut at the factory before being shipped to the jobsite.

As a performance space, effective acoustics was also important. In the case of the Canterbury Woods Performing Arts Center, the sound dampening of the ICFs means that exterior noises will not disturb audiences, and the interior sounds from performances are imperceptible to those outside.

The architectural finish from Dryvit was applied to the façade to accentuate the flowing nature of the curved building design. The exterior insulation and finishing system, or EIFS, provides additional thermal resistance on top of the insulating concrete forms.