University of Southern Maine, Crewe Center for the Arts

Acoustic and AV Design for the New Home of the Osher School of Music

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University of Southern Maine, Crewe Center for the Arts - Performance Hall Audience

University of Southern Maine, Crewe Center for the Arts - Center Stage

University of Southern Maine, Crewe Center for the Arts - Arts Lab 3

University of Southern Maine, Crewe Center for the Arts - Rehearsal Hall

Built Environment

Industry

Performing Arts Centers

Location

Maine

Architect | Architect of Record | Theater Consultant

Perkins Eastman | Oak Point Associates | Theatre Projects

The Crewe Center for the Arts at the University of Southern Maine is a new 43,000-square-foot facility on the Portland, ME campus and home to the Osher School of Music. The building includes a 200-seat Performance Hall, an 80-seat Arts Lab with retractable seating, a Rehearsal Hall, classroom spaces, and multiple practice rooms supporting instruction, rehearsal, and performance. Jaffe Holden, a Trinity Consultants team, provided acoustic and AV systems design for the $63 million project, working alongside Perkins Eastman, Oak Point Associates, and Theatre Projects to balance instructional needs with concert-level performance expectations.

Vision

The University of Southern Maine set out to give the Osher School of Music a purpose-built home on its Portland campus — a 43,000-square-foot facility centered on a 200-seat Performance Hall, an 80-seat Arts Lab with retractable seating, a Rehearsal Hall, classroom spaces, and multiple practice rooms. Flexible planning elements, including a large Skyfold partition at the Arts Lab, needed to let spaces adapt to different uses, while the mechanical systems had to achieve NC-15 background noise levels suitable for music education and performance.

Partnership

Jaffe Holden, a Trinity Consultants team, provided acoustic design across the facility, working alongside Perkins Eastman, Oak Point Associates, and Theatre Projects to balance instructional needs with concert-level performance expectations. The team coordinated closely with Perkins Eastman on room geometry and adjacencies, with Oak Point Associates on structural and mechanical isolation detailing, and with Theatre Projects to align the Performance Hall’s technical infrastructure with its acoustic design. That cross-discipline coordination extended to the Arts Lab, where a large Skyfold partition needed to divide and combine spaces without sacrificing acoustic isolation, and to rehearsal and practice spaces, which employ high levels of isolation and tailored interior treatments to support varied ensemble types.

Services Performed

Room acoustics, sound isolation, sound and vibration control, and audio/video systems design for the Performance Hall, Arts Lab, Rehearsal Hall, practice rooms, and classroom spaces.

Building Sound Isolation

Environmental Acoustics

Noise & Vibration Analysis

AV Systems Strategy & Design

Value-Add

Audio and video systems were designed to support teaching, recording, and performance across the building. The Performance Hall’s shoebox-inspired geometry, wood finishes, and diffusive surfaces were shaped to support warmth and clarity for chamber music and voice, with suspended acoustic reflectors tuned to deliver early reflections for improved ensemble communication and audience intimacy. Adjustable acoustic drapery allows the room’s response to shift between unamplified and amplified uses. A building-wide Dante digital audio network allows high-quality audio to be captured and routed between rooms, enabling recording, monitoring, and streaming, while installed microphones, monitoring, and infrastructure throughout classrooms and studios support the full instructional cycle — from rehearsal and performance to recording and hybrid learning. The result is a facility that gives the Osher School of Music the same caliber of acoustic and technical environment found in professional performance venues.

Thanks to Jaffe Holden’s exceptional design, the Institute of Contemporary Art’s Barbara Lee Family Foundation Theater has consistently impressed both audiences and performing artists since opening in 2006. The discrete acoustical treatment above our hardwood ceiling, as well as the rippled design of the theater’s entire East wall, plays a crucial role in managing reflections and ensuring both clarity and warmth. Additionally, the team’s expert noise isolation design allows for seamless co-existence between the Barbara Lee Family Foundation Theater, our lobby, and our galleries, even as significant development has transformed the surrounding Seaport District. Their expertise continues to be invaluable, and we deeply appreciate their ongoing support in maintaining the integrity of their original acoustical vision.

Ryan Arnett | Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston

Director of Production