Watson Tate Savory 

Location: Charlotte, North Carolina

This marching band facility is located adjacent to UNC Charlotte’s iconic School of Architecture, Storrs Hall, designed by Gwathmey Siegel & Associates in 1988.  Departing from the predominant neo-traditional campus architecture, the exterior expression is a composition of abstracted planes and interlocking volumes, consistent with Gwathmey Siegel’s work of the period, in counterpoint to Storrs’ bands of color and punched openings.  Through placement, orientation and program simplification, the building also redefines a previously ill-defined outdoor space, creating an event lawn, terminating Storrs’ primary axis.  A monumental canopy simultaneously shades the main west-facing façade and provides a stage for outdoor performances.