A Welcoming Entrance and Room to Learn

A Welcoming Entrance

The main entrance of the complex is now located on Marshall Street. Under the current configuration, the entrance area is a vast, quiet space that does not reflect the vibrant activities happening throughout other areas of the building. One of the greatest challenges with the current entry sequence is that there is no drop-off area, and convenient parking is limited to a few spaces along the very busy Marshall Street. 

The master plan includes relocating the main entrance to the Spruce Street side of the building and installing a circular driveway that will accommodate safe on-site drop-off and pickup areas. 

The new entrance will feature an attractive three-story glass entryway with a walkway that will connect all areas of the building.  This new     entrance will be visitor friendly and will aid in traffic flow to the various public areas of the complex, including the new Black-Box Theatre – a flexible performing arts space.

The Arts Council has purchased areas adjacent to the facility on Spruce Street, adding more than 100 parking spaces for arts patrons.

A Room to Learn

Currently on the National Register of Historic Places, the Sawtooth building started its history as Shamrock Mills Company, manufacturers of men's hosiery. In 1910, the company became Hanes Hosiery Mill and began to make women's hosiery. From these manufacturing beginnings, the Sawtooth building has gone through many transformations. Today, the building is at the center of Winston-Salem's busy arts industry.

The Sawtooth School for Visual Arts occupies approximately 11,000 sq. ft. of space in the Sawtooth building. With its distinctive roofline and aesthetically inspiring interior spaces, the building has been synonymous with Sawtooth School for nearly three decades. 

A critical challenge, and an obstacle to the School's future, is the lack of room for growth in the programs already filled to capacity. Currently, the ceramics program and youth program turn students away due to the limited space available for their use. With the restricted number of available classrooms, program coordinators, each teaching different curricula, are required to share classroom space. Additionally, the current building limits the variety of classes that can be offered at the same time and has to restrict the number of students that can be engaged.  Without room to grow, Sawtooth cannot make changes in course curriculum to meet even current demands, much less the changing needs of the community.

The master plan includes renovation of the School's current space and expansion into the northern end of the building. This area will become a showplace for new ceramics, metal and glass studios. The expansion will provide the School with dedicated entrance areas, as well as classrooms that will be specifically designed to accommodate the unique needs of each program. With the additional space, the School will be able to increase the number of students served while offering new and exciting arts-based services for the greater Forsyth County area. The renovation plan also includes improved handicapped accessibility throughout the new facility.