Montgomery County Community College, based in Blue Bell, PA, now has it’s own state of the art theater. Often dubbed the “Montco Cultural Center”, the theater is on campus, and aims to draw world class talent to it’s stage. It will provide a performing arts home to students, faculty, and local residents with the newly renovated theater.

New renovations transformed the former 300 seat facility into a 500 seat venue. Custom acoustic treatments were created by Sound Fabrication, in partnership with Spillman Farmer, and WSDG who provided acoustical consultancy. One of the unique features amongst the new renovations, are the ceiling reflectors. The architecture team desired the reveals to be black. To accomplish this the T Nuts were initially drilled through, onto a fire rated MDF core, which was dyed black. The veneer was then pressed to the core and roll coated with a UV finish to match the control samples.  After the panels were finished, they were CNC’d to size, and the reveals were then CNC’d. This was a complex ceiling to implement, and was modeled in AutoCAD 3D with IMOS iX, which provided the machining data for all parts. The engineering and 3D modeling was a success, as few errors occurred with the fabrication of the parts.

One of the biggest challenges that the team had to overcome in the completion of this project was the global pandemic caused by Covid 19.  The team were attempting to fabricate the materials during this period, a time when lumber costs were rising, while the budget was fixed. Ingenuity and creative problem solving were utilized to keep the project on track, and within the fixed budget. Another challenge faced by the team was ensuring that the diffusers and micro perforated wood matched the finish of the other millwork on the project.  This was flawlessly executed, with great attention to detail.

The Montgomery County Community College Theater is now a technically, and acoustically upgraded facility, which will allow for The Montco Cultural Center to have one of the best venues in the area and draw all kinds of talent to its stage. The draw will not just be one of a local nature, but one that will be attractive to both national and international acts. The Montgomery County Community College Theater has planned programing that will range from family-oriented shows- suited to younger audiences, contemporary and popular music, speakers and lecture tours, comedy acts, orchestras, and everything in between.