On Pointe: Chapman University Completes the Sandi Simon Center for Dance

Dancers studying at Chapman University in Orange, California, literally and figuratively will have room to move at the newly completed Sandi Simon Center for Dance. The project is an adaptive reuse of the historic Villa Park Orchards (VPO) packing house that was built in 1918.

Scheduled to open in the Spring 2023 semester, the three-level, state-of-theart facility includes two distinct levels, high ceilings and a mezzanine. At 39,000 square feet, the $16.8 million school’s dance center exceeds the National Association of Schools of Dance recommendation of 100 square feet per dancer. The building is designed to accommodate up to 150 students at one time.

“It was such a great opportunity to work on this next-generation dance facility, allowing us to use so many of our specialized skills,” said Bill Wilhelm, president of R.D. Olson Construction, which completed the construction. “This will be a best-in- class facility for a best-in-class dance program.”

The ground floor houses the 120-seat main performance studio, which can be transformed into a black box studio for master classes and smaller, more intimate performances. It also includes a flex studio for Pilates instruction, a meeting room, faculty offices and physical therapy training room.

The second floor features four studios, all larger than 2,400 square feet, with Apple TVs, mirrors, state-of-the-art equipment and performance lighting. This level also features a balcony area for students to relax as they watch activity in the courtyard below and as a VIP reception area.

This third level houses a classroom, meeting rooms and a multi-functional loft area that can be transformed into many different uses.

The retrofitting of an existing empty shell involved cutting out the floor of the existing structure to build the new central studio. All the dance studios are outfitted with specialized “sprung” floors that are designed to absorb the impact of dancers’ movements, helping minimize injuries. There is also high-quality audio-visual equipment and performance lighting throughout the studios. Many existing windows were incorporated for natural light.

Most strikingly, the builders meticulously removed a 100-year-old tongueand-groove floor to then refinish and repurpose the maple wood boards. The salvaged pieces were ultimately used to create a 1,500-square-foot decorative wall in the common lobby.

R.D. Olson worked with longtime architecture partner Lorcan O’Herlihy on the project. The dance center, which broke ground in August of 2021, is located near Hilbert Museum of California Art and next to The K Residence Hall (both projects also built by R.D. Olson).