ARCHITECTURE & ENTERTAINMENT ae Issue 01 / March 2017 / 12 STUDIO ANDREW TODD REX ARCHITECTURE A+ARCHITECTURE ARKPABI OPENLAB COMPANY
AT&T PERFORMING ARTS CENTER Photos by Iwan Baan DEE AND CHARLES WYLY THEATRE DESIGNED BY REX/OMA JOSHUA PRINCE-RAMUS & REM KOOLHAAS The dallas TheaTer center (dtc) was FOuNded IN 1959, and was ONe OF The FIrsT regional TheaTres IN The united states. by 1984, The dtc was housed IN The arts district TheaTer, a building designed by stage designer eugene lee, and was essentially a PlaIN MeTal barn. KNOwN FOr high-concept experimental work, The dtc ThrIved IN ThIs environment, TaKING Full artistic advantage OF The limitless configurations Made available by The MaKeshIFT NaTure OF The building. IT was during ThIs PerIOd ThaT an ambitious PlaN was being FOrMed TO create a cultural district ThaT would INclude TheaTre, dance, visual arts, and education. ThIs PlaN MeaNT MOvING The PhYsIcal homes OF These OrGaNIZaTIONs TO a 68-acre, 19-blOcK NeIGhbOurhOOd situated IN dallas s downtown. The district s architecture would INclude buildings designed by FOur PrITZKer PrIZe winners and an aia GOld Medal recipient. 20
dallas former arts district Theatre (adt) cultivated innovative theatre rarely seen outside the triumvirate of New York, chicago, and seattle. Ironically, adt s artistic success can be traced to its provisional character. a dilapidated metal shed, adt freed its resident companies from the limitations imposed by a fixed stage configuration and the need to protect expensive interior finishes. Its users avidly challenged the traditional conventions of theatre and routinely reconfigured the form of the stage to fit their artistic visions, the only limiting factor being the cost of labour and materials. as a result, the multi-form adt was renowned at its height as the most flexible theatre in america. For the arts district Theatre, the challenge was to build a beautiful new structure while retaining the artistic freedom of the original barn. In response, the team of rex OMa, with joshua Prince-ramus (partner in charge), Pritzker Prize winning architect rem Koolhaas, along with theatrical design from Theatre Projects consultants, produced a groundbreaking design featuring a stacked arrangement of facility support spaces. The 12-storey building has an advanced, automated superfly system, which allows both scenery and suspended seating balconies to be flown, or lifted out of sight to create a proscenium stage, thrust stage, in the round and flat-floor configurations, essentially transforming the building into a theatre machine. 21
stacking the wyly Theatre s ancillary facilities above- and below-house also liberates the performance chamber s entire perimeter. No longer separated by transitional and technical zones - such as lobbies, ticket counters, and backstage facilities - fantasy and reality can mix when and where desired. directors can incorporate the dallas skyline and streetscape into performances at will, as the auditorium is enclosed by an acoustic glass façade with optional black-out blinds... Photo by Tim Hursley Photos by Iwan Baan 22 and panels that can be opened to allow patrons or performers to enter the auditorium directly from outside, bypassing the downstairs dropoff... and lobby.
by investing in infrastructure that allows ready transformation and liberating the performance chamber s perimeter, the wyly Theatre grants its artistic directors freedom to determine the entire theatre experience, from audience arrival to performance configuration to departure. To increase company cohesion, back-of-house spaces dedicated to performers and administrators are intertwined above-house. On a Friday night, patrons can share lear s sorrow in a dark and quiet thrust theatre. Then saturday evening, against the dramatic backdrop of the dallas cityscape, the audience can join vladimir and estragon in their vigil for Godot, in a proscenium auditorium now stripped of its comforting cocoon. Photo courtesy of rex
by adapting PrOveN TechNOlOGIes FOr New uses, The TheaTre can be altered INTO a wide array OF configurations - INcludING PrOsceNIuM, ThrusT, arena, Traverse, studio, and FlaT FlOOr configurations - with ONlY a small crew IN a Few hours. directors and scenic designers are empowered TO select Or INveNT The stage-audience configuration ThaT FulFIlls TheIr artistic desires, FacIlITaTING experimentation. each OF The Three 135-TON balcony TOwers, both stair TOwers, and The PrOsceNIuM can be repositioned Or lifted OuT OF sight using sporting arena scoreboard lifts. Photos by Iwan Baan This unprecedented stacked design transforms the building into a theatre machine that extends the freedoms of the fly tower over the auditorium. 24
Theatre chair for Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre by Studio Arne Quinze The theatre space is designed to be reconfigured according to the requirements of each performance and the chairs are meant to be easily moved, stored away, grouped together or fixed to the floor Photo courtesy of Theatre Projects Consultants
Photos by Tim Hursley The dee and charles wyly Theatre - at&t Performing arts center - dallas, Texas CLIENT: at&t Performing arts center KEY AWARDS: American Institute of Architects 2011 National Honor Award; American Council of Engineering Companies 2010 National Gold Award; U.S Institute for Theatre Technology s 2012 National Honor Award. PROGRAM: 575-seat multi-form theatre with the ability to transform between proscenium (endstage), thrust, arena, traverse, studio, and flat floor configurations with a small crew in a few hours; and to open the performance space to its urban surroundings. AREA: 7,700 m² (80,300 sf). STATUS: commenced 2004; completed 2009. DESIGN ARCHITECT: rex OMa. KEY PERSONNEL: Joshua Prince-Ramus (Partner in Charge) and Rem Koolhaas, with Erez Ella, Vincent Bandy, Vanessa Kassabian, Tim Archambault. EXECUTIVE ARCHITEC: Kendall/Heaton. CONSULTANTS: Cosentini, DHV, Donnell Consultants, Front, HKA, Magnusson Klemencic, McCarthy Construction, McGuire, Pielow Fair, Plus Group, Quinze & Milan, Theatre Projects Consultants, Tillotson Design, Transsolar, 2x4.
serapid stage systems WERE SELECTED FOr The dee and charles wyly TheaTre PrOjecT because OF The levels OF control and stability OFFered, combined with an extremely low NOIse characteristic. with serapid systems The stage configuration can be changed quickly and PrecIselY, PrOvIdING The dynamism The venue required. serapid PrOduced a complex system FOr ThIs PrOjecT, consisting OF a large PrOsceNIuM lift, 2 seating wagons, 5 smaller seating lifts, 12 scissor lifts and 6 TurNTables, all OPeraTed by wireless TOuch screen control.