Los Angeles, CA
USC School of Dramatic Arts Dick Wolf Drama Center
Scope/Solutions
With the adaptive reuse of its 1931 United University Church, the University of Southern California (USC) created a new home for its dramatic arts programs. The project allowed USC to consolidate its programs in one building while repurposing one of its historically significant campus structures. The Dick Wolf Drama Center includes the one hundred-seat Sanctuary Theatre, the sixty-seat Stop Gap Theatre, multimedia classrooms, and workspaces. SGH consulted on the building enclosure for the renovation and a new addition to the existing structure.
The project focused on adding a new addition and terrace, upgrading systems to improve the building’s performance, reconfiguring spaces to meet the school’s functional needs, and achieving LEED certification. The rehabilitation included a seismic retrofit of the existing structure, repairing deteriorated building enclosure components while preserving the exterior aesthetics, replacing roofs, and restoring historic windows. SGH consulted on the design and construction of:
- Solutions for below-grade walls and beneath exposed walkways
- Upgrades to the original steel-framed windows, including new glazing and thermal films to improve the energy efficiency
- Repairs to distressed brick masonry and cast stone facade components, including mortar analyses we conducted in our laboratory
- Clay tile and low slope roofing replacements
- New enclosure elements for the addition building
Project Summary
2025
36k
Award
LEED
Key team members
