Photo: Architekton & Barton Myers Associates

You’ve seen the odd metaLLic structure from the freeway for monthS. Now, Tempe’s Center for the Arts is complete. Here’s a sneak-peek.

The new Tempe Center for the Arts along Rio Salado Drive in Tempe is hard to miss. The building has been grabbing attention since construction began more than three years ago, with a jutting roof, metal planes and an expansive footprint.
The imposing center was constructed with money from a 1/10 percent sales tax approved by Tempe voters in May 2000. It opens to the public at noon September 9. The center is a warehouse for four distinct buildings, each with a neon sign. Here’s a look at what’s inside:

Theater
The largest of the center’s structures, the theater will host performances by local groups such as the Tempe Symphony Orchestra and Arizona Wind Symphony. Natalie Cole will be the inaugural performer on September 8. Awash in warm wood paneling and copper finishes, the theater includes an orchestra pit that can be raised and used for more seating. To create an intimate theater-going experience, the farthest of the theater’s nearly 600 seats are only 65 feet from the stage.

Studio
The studio is more industrial with a dark blue color scheme, bare lighting, and open catwalks and stairways.
The floor is filled with adjustable platforms that can rise more than 6 feet, allowing for a variety of performance configurations. Seating capacity is 200 to 250, all loose-chair. It could host small stage shows like those of Tempe Little Theatre or local dance companies such as Desert Dance Theater.

Gallery
The 3,500-square-foot gallery, with white walls and maple floors,  leads into a 5,700-square-foot outdoor sculpture garden. The gallery has its own controls so that temperature and humidity can be meticulously monitored for exhibitions. The system was “designed essentially on Smithsonian Institution standards,” says Don Fassinger, the city’s cultural facilities administrator.

Lakeside
Unlike the other three spaces, Lakeside is not focused on art or performance. This space can house up to 219 people for meetings, banquets and receptions. The north-facing room has glass walls on three sides and a 55,000-gallon, negative-edge reflecting pool that appears to fall straight into Tempe Town Lake. It is really 20 feet from the shore.
For more information, visit tempe.gov/tca.