Founded in 1992 as an alternative educational program, the Arts and Communication Magnet Academy in Beaverton, Oregon has grown into an award-winning arts school with an annual waiting list of 300. Designed for a new 9 million dollar, 21,000 square foot facility, the architecture uses form, materiality, and movement to tell the story of an academy that puts its heart and soul into art, setting the stage for new generations of artists and performers. The concept of a "performance before a performance" shapes the experience from the moment visitors arrive. A curving canopy catches the eye with a form that hints at a grand piano, cello, or guitar. High contrast silver, black, and red exterior finishes speak of drama, while slanted, dancing columns shift from reflective at night to shadow casting by day, creating an architectural rhythm that feels alive in the landscape. Inside, the building continues this dance. Sinuous curves and angled structure abstract music and movement, then open into soaring gallery spaces that give visual arts a dramatic home. Large windows reveal student work, turning the building itself into a public display. The 150 foot long West Gallery is the centerpiece, punctuated by north facing offsets that create eddies with custom display and acoustic dividers. From the outside, the sawtooth rhythm reads like a musical score, with steps suggesting measures and windows suggesting notes. Architecturally, the offsets break up the long volume. Programmatically, they support critiques for multiple classes at once. Performance spaces match the school’s ambition. The theater is outfitted with over 1 million dollars in lighting and sound, making it the premier performance facility in the district. A 400 seat main stage and a secondary black box space supports performances for up to 80 people while also serving as green room for a program of more than 200 students. Throughout, color and light keep the story clear, with red held at the building’s core as its figurative heart and roof lighting turning the upper walls of the main stage into a glowing announcement that a show is in progress at night.