The Mahaney Center for the Arts was designed for art exhibition and performance (the spaces include a surround concert hall, a studio theater, and a dance performance space), and also as a home for academic programs in theater, music, and dance. When it was complete, it became centerpiece of a major expansion and renovation program at Middlebury.

A large stone and wood-shingled building houses music, theater, dance, and an art gallery. The main component is a 400-seat, horseshoe-shaped room for recitals and concerts. Additional elements of the program included a flexible 150-300-seat experimental theatre, a dance studio, music library, more rehearsal space for music and drama, classrooms, offices, and art galleries for permanent and touring exhibitions and workshops. The concert hall and experimental theatre share workshop space, a green room, and rehearsal rooms on both the main and lower levels of the complex.

In addition to planning the performance spaces, FDA collaborated closely with HHPA to allow the building’s multi-story lobby to double as a reception area for student concerts, plays and private events.