Nixa High School Aetos Center for the Performing Arts

Sometimes, design work comes in the form of naming and branding – in addition to physical aesthetics. That was the case for the Dake Wells Architecture Inc. team hired for Nixa Public School’s bold plan to boost its high school arts department.

An early component was landing on the name aetos for the addition and renovation of the arts wing. The Greek word means eagle, which is Nixa’s mascot. The designers at Dake Wells say they’ve done a lot of work for schools, but more commonly athletic projects. So, Nixa’s Aetos Center for the Performing Arts represented a unique end user: theater, band and choir students.

“We had the opportunity to work with the owner to help develop a little bit of identity for those specific groups of students, which was really cool,” said Kirk Dillon, a project associate at Dake Wells.

The identity piece came full circle with an exterior design element.

“On the facade, where the feathered pattern is, as you move around you can see the word eagle,” said Project Manager Bethany Henry. “The feathers kind of turn into the word eagle, as a clever and sophisticated way to say that it’s part of Nixa.”

Henry said another dual-meaning design is a textured pattern emulating the folds of a theater curtain. There seems to be several of these thoughtfully hidden features that the designers take pride in.

“I think the venue really starts to show the importance that Nixa places on the arts and also the quality level of performances in the arts department,” Henry said.

In addition to the everyday use by students, the center hosts professional touring acts in its 1,100-seat auditorium. It opened to the public in February, with a show by magician Mike Super, winner of NBC TV show “Phenomenon,” and it’ll finish the year with a Christmas concert by Christian artists Newsong and Jeremy Camp.

The project had plenty of unique challenges, the designers say, beginning with a compact site, surrounded by the school and parking, and classes were continually in session. It also had its share of revisions – including a big one in the 11th hour.

“We moved the entire building 8 feet out,” Dillon said, “which is a pretty big undertaking when you’re almost done.”

But they note it still came in on time and on budget, led by general contractor DeWitt & Associates Inc.

“DeWitt was so forward thinking,” Henry added, “bringing subcontractors to the table at the right time to talk through challenges.”