Location: Vero Beach, Florida

Completion Date: Fall 2026

Project Size: 9,500 sf

Building 800 - VAPA Vision

Building 800 is being transformed into a state of the art performing arts center for Indian River Charter High School, reimagining an existing campus facility as a daily-use home for creativity, craft, and performance. Designed as an educational environment first and a venue second, the center will serve students across music, dance, theatre, performance, and fine arts, while supporting interdisciplinary work where storytelling, design, and technology intersect. The architecture reinforces a clear idea: the arts are not an add-on, but a disciplined practice worthy of professional-grade tools, visibility, and space.

At the heart of the project is a highly flexible black box theatre with advanced lighting and a mechanical retractable rigging system that allows students to safely engage with lighting design and production as part of their coursework. A state of the art projection system enables contemporary graphic and video presentations, screenings, and immersive digital backdrops. Hybrid seating expands the room’s versatility, with retractable seating along the rear wall and demountable seating systems that can be reconfigured for runway, in-the-round, thrust, and custom layouts.

More than a performance venue, Building 800 celebrates the full process of making. Surrounding the theatre, an art gallery titled The Walk will feature rotating exhibitions of student work, turning circulation into culture and making visual art an everyday experience. The project also elevates backstage and support spaces, intentionally bridging the gap between audience and performer to reveal rehearsal, preparation, and production as essential parts of the art form. The result is a campus cultural anchor that strengthens student voice, invites community engagement, and showcases the arts from first sketch to final bow.