Stuart High School

MNA Architects has been selected to transform the original historic, 1922 built, 3 story structure and 2 flanking one story, mid-century modern structures totaling approximately 31,000 SF into a Cultural Arts Center for The Arts Foundation of Martin County. The new center will include a wide variety of performing and visual arts presentation and creation venues as well as a divisible assembly space to support the Centers mission and serve the overall community. Based on interviews with several local and regional arts groups at the heart of the renovated structure the goal was to create a +/- 300 seat theater, however after weeks of field measuring, as built documentation (there were no original or later reliable drawings) and conceptual planning it became apparent that was not possible trying to fit it into the original auditorium and adjacent spaces. MNA architects introduced the radical idea of seeking additional land from the School Board and adding a new stage tower, support spaces, a mechanical zone and warming kitchen, strategically located to serve the upper-level assembly space as well as a roof top lounge above the stage tower which will have commanding views of Downtown Stuart’s spectacular waterfront. By dropping the audience chamber into the lower level, the new space will have excellent sight lines, acoustic volume, and functionality. 

MNArchitects has been selected to design the Eggbar restaurant, to be located at the base of the new AKA Hotel in downtown West Palm Beach, Florida. The planned restaurant’s highly visible location on Olive Avenue, the main thoroughfare into downtown, suggested a bold design built on the project’s name. An egg-shaped bar supplies seats for one hundred and seven people and is visibly reinforced by an overhead canopy that serves as a lighting fixture as well as storage area. The “egg” theme continues in the design of the main seating area when the ceiling forms steps allowing for the air to be delivered between the layers eliminating the visual clutter of air grills throughout. The one structural column is concealed with a perforated metal and glass egg shaped wrap that is internally lit and creates a highly visible signage element as well as a visual anchor for the bar and its related sculptural ceiling element.

PLACEHOLDER

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