Buddy Holly Hall of Performing Arts and Sciences Case Study

A Home Stage for Every Kind of Production

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Built EnvironmentBuilt Environment

Industry

Performing Arts Centers

Location

Texas

Architect | Architect of Record | Theater Consultant

Diamond Schmitt Architects | MWM Architects | Schuler Shook, Inc.

Buddy Holly Hall of Performing Arts and Sciences is a 220,000-square-foot performing arts center in Lubbock, Texas, serving artists, students, touring productions, and the broader community. The facility includes a 2,300-seat main hall with flat-floor capability, a 375-seat theater that includes the Cricket’s Theater designed specifically for Lubbock ISD, dance studios associated with a local ballet school and Texas Tech’s Lubbock Campus, a 5,000-square-foot multipurpose space, and the full technical support infrastructure required for a building in constant use.

Jaffe Holden, a Trinity Consultants team, provided acoustic and AV design across all spaces in the facility, helping each venue support its full range of intended programs while maintaining the building’s identity as a shared cultural home for Lubbock.

Vision

Buddy Holly Hall was envisioned as a cultural anchor for Lubbock, bringing symphonic music, theater, touring productions, dance, education, and community events into one active performing arts destination. The main hall was designed as a major opportunity: a large-format venue with adjustable acoustics and flat-floor convertibility, making it one of the few facilities in the country capable of hosting orchestral performance, amplified concerts, conferences, lectures, and large-scale events within the same room.

Our acoustic design gave the building the flexibility to serve that full range of programs. Rather than designing for fixed room characters, the work centered on adaptable acoustic environments — adjustable systems, shells, and configurations that allow each space to respond to classical music, amplified performance, dance, and community use across seasons and users.

Partnership

The project brought together Diamond Schmitt Architects, MWM Architects, and Schuler Shook to create a performing arts complex with both public presence and technical depth. We worked closely with the design team to integrate acoustic performance into the architecture of each venue, from room shaping and finishes to sound isolation between active spaces.

In a building designed for simultaneous activity, each space is supported by adjustable acoustic systems, shells, and flexible configurations. Performances, classes, and events can all happen within the same complex, with our work ensuring every environment can maintain the range of acoustic conditions its programs require.

Services Performed

We provided room acoustics, sound isolation, sound and vibration control, and audio and video systems design.

Value-Add

The 2,300-seat main hall was designed to support large-scale performance while accommodating different production formats. Its flat-floor capability expands how the room can be used, allowing the venue to serve events beyond a single seated concert arrangement. The hall includes a custom-made orchestra shell and acoustic systems that support symphony, opera, conferences, lectures, dance, ballet, and amplified productions. Acoustic diffusion was integrated as part of the design strategy, helping shape clarity, energy, and balance across program types.

The 375-seat theater incorporates acoustic shaping suited to proscenium performance, with a shell and adjustable acoustics. The Cricket’s Theater within this venue was designed specifically for Lubbock ISD school district use. The 5,000-square-foot multipurpose space supports a range of rehearsal, educational, and community event functions.

The result is a performing arts center that gives Lubbock a highly capable cultural venue, with acoustic and AV environments that support artists, students, touring companies, and audiences in a building designed for long-term community use.

220,000

sq. ft.

2,300

seat main hall

375

seat theater

5,000

sq. ft. multi-purpose space

Pursuing LEED Silver