The Arts Initiative's goals will require new and upgraded spaces for studios, exhibitions, rehearsals, and performances. The need for such space among Stanford students, faculty, and visitors far exceeds anything available. The lack of facilities functions as a glass ceiling on the ability of the arts departments to develop the sort of innovative programming appropriate to a university of Stanford's stature.

As part of a master plan spanning 15 to 20 years, Stanford is pursuing a system of both "clustered" and "distributed" spaces. The clustered spaces will bring together the arts departments around the Cantor Arts Center and the new Bing Concert Hall, creating a new Arts District. The distributed arts spaces will eventually create new resources throughout the campus, including dedicated arts spaces within the student residences.

Bing Concert Hall

Stanford plans to build the new 900-seat Bing Concert Hall to meet the latest technical and acoustical standards. Designed to join the ranks of America's finest performance spaces, the center will accommodate world-renowned artists whose needs cannot currently be met by Memorial and Dinkelspiel auditoriums.

McMurtry Art Building

Stanford is also planning a new building for the Art and Art History Department, including facilities for the new Film and Media Studies Program. The McMurtry Art Building will be adjacent to the Cantor Arts Center, helping to integrate all of the visual arts on campus and to coordinate courses, exhibitions, film screenings, and other programs. The new building will add flexible studio-art teaching spaces and technology-rich infrastructure for digital art, media production, and filmmaking and screening.

Plattner Design Institute

The new Hasso Plattner Institute of Design will be housed in the renovated Building 550, a classic Stanford structure just south of the Quad. The 47,000-square-foot building will feature versatile spaces designed for collaborative learning, team teaching, and group projects.