Case Study

Aspen Music School | Aspen, Colorado

A building in the mountain foothold of Aspen, Colorado designed to mirror its landscape would not be complete without the light from the sky. That’s the role Kalwall translucent panels played in the award-winning design by Harry Teague Architects.

Two of the centerpiece buildings on the Matthew and Carolyn Bucksbaum Campus featuring Kalwall systems were part of the design the American Institute of Architects Colorado West section awarded its highest honor to recently.

The Bucksbaum Campus project was given the Honor Award for Commercial/Institutional design. The Honor Award is the section’s highest achievement and the Bucksbaum Campus was the only project bestowed that award this year. The project is part of a $60 million renovation to the campus.

Two of the buildings on the picturesque campus shared by the Aspen Music Festival and School, and the Aspen Country Day School feature Kalwall wall systems. The Edlis-Neeson Hall and Scanlan Hall are breathtaking spaces, acoustically advanced halls that allow a full orchestra to rehearse on the inside and are impressive visually on the outside.

Kalwall systems allow naturally diffuse daylight to provide museum quality lighting to a building. In addition to being energy efficient – they are a staple for architects looking for a high LEED rating – they are visually prominent in Mr. Teague’s design.

Alan Fletcher, the President and CEO of the Aspen Music Festival and School, said in an interview with Aspen Public Radio that the design represents the water, the grand Highland Bowl surrounding the campus and, through the use of Kalwall translucent panels, the beautiful Colorado sky that bathes the hall in light.

The halls flank a pavilion named in honor of Teague and sit on the edge of a pond on the 37 acre campus that is two miles from downtown Aspen and is host to the summer-long Aspen Music Festival. The Aspen Music Festival is considered the premiere classical music festival in the country and hosts over 300 events during an eight week period.

The halls have been so well received that there are plans to incorporate Kalwall systems in some of the other new buildings being planned on the Bucksbaum Campus.