Roble Gym makeover includes new arts gym

Project on schedule to open in fall 2016.

In June 2014, Stanford trustees approved plans to renovate Roble Gym, which was built in 1931 as a women’s gym and health center. Roble Gym will house the Department of Theater & Performance Studies (TAPS) Division of Dance and the Roble Arts Gym, a flexible rehearsal and art-making space for the general student population.

Now in the final stages of the renovation, finishing touches during summer 2016 include the completion of a new dance studio and black box theater, and outfitting the arts gym.

The restored and renewed Roble will open to students when the fall term begins in September 2016.

The black box theater has flexible seating options for dramatic works, and the renovated dance studio for rehearsals and productions in dance has been outfitted with new projection and sound equipment and climate control as well as additional spaces for rehearsals and instruction.

The Roble Arts Gym is a one-of-a-kind drop-in art studio and rehearsal space for students working on independent projects or extra-curricular activities. This new light-filled, flexible space will be equipped to do everything from oil painting to 3-D printing to recording music to screening films.

Under the $28 million project, the building’s infrastructure, including the mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems, safety and egress systems, and accessibility are being updated. Its exterior, as well as its courtyards and landscape, will be rehabilitated in the spirit of the original design.

Roble Gym will serve the needs of TAPS department, which is dedicated to integrated learning in performing arts based on intensive studio training and rigorous academic instruction.

Renderings and Photos

Architects for the Roble renovation project are Cody Anderson Wasney Architects, the same team that is renovating Old Chem. They also designed the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design - the d.school.