Violin Museum and Auditorium Giovanni

Arvedi / ARKPABI | Giorgio Palu’ e Michele

Bianchi Architetti

© Roland Halbe

+ 25
 Architects

ARKPABI | Giorgio Palu’ e Michele Bianchi Architetti

 Location

Cremona, Italy
 Architect in Charge

Giorgio Palù, Michele Bianchi

 Acoustic design

NAGATA ACOUSTIC

 Lighting design consultant

Aldo Gennari

 Area

5500.0 m2

 Project Year

2013

 Photographs

Roland Halbe

 Manufacturers

Erco, Tino Sana, Goppion, Immobiliare Raffaella, Caloi, Zumtobel, Steel Group s.r.l.,

COEMAR, Viabizzuno, CMS – Costruzioni metalliche sospiresi, Ori & Bonetti, Euphon,

Risam for Show

More Specs

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 © Roland Halbe

From the architect. Conceived as a form of expressing the beauty of instruments, the

Auditorium came into being to represent the great musical tradition, but also to

confront the future of music. The result is a fluid project made of soft volumes, sinuous

lines chasing each other and drawing a great organic sculpture which expresses

thespreading of sound waves.

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Interior Sketch

A parallel project: architecture and sound, releasing a sequence of shapes, volumes,

views: the focal point is the central stage where attention is immediately centred. An

important acoustic and architectonic choice sedimenting all-involving visions, recalling

almost the Weimar all- embracing theatre. The space where sound is formed, the

circular stage on the lower level of the hall, is a magnetic nucleus for the audience,

drawing attention to the musical event to the musical event and making its image fully

central. The audience is “wrapped round” the musicians, the dialogue that is created

between the audience and the players producing a strong emotional impact and

allowing a new experience which goes beyond the classical concert concept.

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 © Roland Halbe

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© Roland Halbe

The architecture is done to excite emotions, but the acoustics, studied by the acoustics

engineer Yasuhisa Toyota, also become a strong point of the hall. The architecture tries

to “capture” sound to translate it into an image; music, ephemeral by nature, becomes

from, substance: permanent and ephemeral in a timeless dialogie in the place

celebrating string instruments.

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© Roland Halbe

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Conceptual Sketch

Fluidity and organicity of the architectonic spaces, living and pulsating material which is

moulded following curvilinear lines, contrasting with the regular and sterile definition of

the rectangular hall which contains the Auditorium, like a box opening up its surprises.

A basic idea: to build along parallel lines an identity between sound and architecture, in

spaces that seem to crystallize sound waves.

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 © Roland Halbe

A palace on many surprises and wonders: mechanisms on an architecture that is built

by joining softness and fullness of materials, defined in the fluid concatenations of the

spaces highlighting soft curves and tight spokes which make the surfaces vibrate and

turn, an architecture which lives on open views and glimpses, concentration and

inventive essence.

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 Section H-H

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Section L-L

 © Roland Halbe

 © Roland Halbe
 © Roland Halbe

 © Roland Halbe

 Interior Render 01

 © Roland Halbe

 © Roland Halbe

 © Roland Halbe
 © Roland Halbe

 © Roland Halbe

 © Roland Halbe

 Interior Sketch

 Interior Render 02

 Conceptual Sketch
 Groun d floor plan

 Second floor plan

 Third floor plan

 Section C-C

 Section H-H

 Section L-L
 Section Sketch

 Interior Sketch

 Elevation Sketch

 Interior Render 03

Banca di Credito Cooperativo "G. Toniolo"

Auditorium / FABBRICANOVE Architetti
 © Filippo Romano

+ 23
 Architects
FABBRICANOVE Architetti

 Location
93017 San Cataldo CL, Italy

 Architects in Charge
Giovanni Bartolozzi, Enzo Fontana

 Area
1300.0 m2

 Project Year
2016
 Photographs
Filippo Romano

 Manufacturers
Trespa, Plexiglas

More Specs

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© Filippo Romano

From the architect. The new Auditorium of the Banca di Credito Cooperativo

(BCC) "G. Toniolo" of San Cataldo, near Caltanissetta in the Sicilian
hinterland, is the evidence of a possible coexistence between urban memory
and contemporary architecture. Designed by FABBRICANOVE Architetti,
architectural office founded in Florence in 2009 by Enzo Fontana, Giovanni
Bartolozzi, and Lorenzo Matteoli, the new Auditorium born from the client's
desire to create a public space for cultural events open to the public and for
hosting business private meetings. Then, a space for the residents to meet
and share new cultural opportunities, and for the bank activities. 

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© Filippo Romano

The location of the project is an important issue for the design approach: San
Cataldo, a small town in the middle of Sicily, is composed of traditional
houses. The auditorium is a new urban and contemporary design 'object' that
comes as an alternative to the consolidated historical centre.

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© Filippo Romano
Save this picture!

Ground Floor Plan

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© Filippo Romano

The project is situated along the main central street, where there was a
cluster of houses with a single front facade, characterized by elements of
classical architecture: the restriction of the Superintendence imposed the
reconstruction of the original facade that in the project becomes a scenic
backdrop. A new volume, designed like a dark and compact monolith, stands
behind the restored facade, but it is not hidden. The entire auditorium is
designed as a massive embedded diamond that is revealed on the side face,
the rear face, and upward: the past and the present come together and
invite for a new reading of the urban context and its architecture.

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© Filippo Romano

The auditorium has an area of 1.300 square meters, divided into four levels
and a basement for the archives of the bank and technical rooms. On the
first level there is the foyer that opens on the main street through five
portals; the second level includes the auditorium hall with about 280 seats;
the third level is dedicated to a gallery for 130 seats; at the last level there is
a meeting room and a terrace between the facade and the monolith.

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Section

FABBRICANOVE chose a grey anthracite cladding for the skin of the new
volume in order to make it visible and to create a dialogue with the white
plaster of the reconstructed facade. The coating of the external volume has
been realized with vertical cut panels, to obtain a precious texture, which
 works as a ventilated facade. The project arises into the context as a
decisive and clear overlay. The structural system is a significant element of
the project. The structure is concentrated in the perimeter of the monolith,
and this allows to have an open space with spans of up to 20 linear meters.
This solution creates a void, a gap between the reconstructed facade and the
monolith, where all the distribution system is located: stairs, elevators and
entrances.

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© Filippo Romano

 © Filippo Romano
 © Filippo Romano

 © Filippo Romano

 © Filippo Romano

 © Filippo Romano

 © Filippo Romano

 © Filippo Romano
 © Filippo Romano

 © Filippo Romano

 © Filippo Romano

 © Filippo Romano

 © Filippo Romano

 © Filippo Romano
 © Filippo Romano

 © Filippo Romano

 Ground Floor Plan

 1st Floor Plan

 Gallery Plan
1. Bee Breeders Announces Winners for Kip Island Auditorium Competition

Bee Breeders Announces Winners for Kip

Island Auditorium Competition

First Prize: The Urban Lighthouse /

Michele Busiri-Vici, Clementina Ruggieri, Matteo Biasiolo, Pino Pavese;
Space4Architecture. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

The winning entries to the Kip Island Auditorium competition have been announced

by Bee Breeders, which invited proposals for the addition of a new

iconic auditorium addition to the Riga International Convention Centre,

in Latvia’s capital. The competition asked for alternative approaches to the design

of public and civic facilities, while “reinvesting an estranged program in the urban

landscape." 

Here are the three winners of the Kip Island Auditorium competition:

+ 47
First Prize:

The Urban Lighthouse / Michele Busiri-Vici, Clementina Ruggieri, Matteo Biasiolo, Pino

Pavese; Space4Architecture
Save this picture!

First Prize: The Urban Lighthouse /

Michele Busiri-Vici, Clementina Ruggieri, Matteo Biasiolo, Pino Pavese;
Space4Architecture. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

Revolving around a cantilevered theater space that extends over the site, the winning

proposal blurs the lines between spectator and performer. Inside, the arrangement of a

series of partitions can connect or divide auditorium spaces, creating stages of varying

scales that are wrapped in an envelope of double-mesh.

“The iconicity of the auditorium lies in this opposition between object and performance,

creating a project in which the archetype of the stage is activated into an entirely new

model for spectacle and spectatorship,” explained the jury.

+ 47
Second Prize:

Kip Island Auditorium / Deyan Saev, Panayiotis Hadjisergis; Technical University Delft

Save this picture!

 Second Prize: Kip Island
Auditorium / Deyan Saev, Panayiotis Hadjisergis; Technical University Delft. Image
Courtesy of Bee Breeders

With a serrated public façade that channels visitors into an aggregated triangular

massing, this project unifies the existing exhibition center buildings with a linear

arrangement of new programs, contained within a large, non-hierarchical space.

Tectonically, the addition uses a repeated post and beam wooden module, along

with steel cable and polycarbonate infill to allow for indirect solar gain.

This entry was selected by the jury for its “subdued iconicity, evoking the industrial

nature of the existing buildings and imposing order on a site characterized by an

accumulation of disparate conditions.”

 The project was also awarded the BB Student Award, and the BB Green Award.

+ 47
Third Prize:

Agir / Moisés Royo, Carlos Orbea, Gonzalo García-Robledo, Cristina Martín Consuegra
Save this picture!

Third Prize: Agir / Moisés

Royo, Carlos Orbea, Gonzalo García-Robledo, Cristina Martín Consuegra. Image Courtesy
of Bee Breeders

Focussing on public interaction with the site, this proposal reimagines the solid nature

of the typical exhibition center and transforms it into a unifying public plaza, by

extending the space to the site perimeter to connect the existing components. Filled

with trees, the plaza helps maintain the individual identities of each of the buildings,

which serve as both auditoria and a new public promenade.

“The project keenly makes use of section to engage pedestrians in the program of the

building by elevating and exposing the underside of each auditorium space,” stated the

jury.  “The undulating underside becomes a filtered threshold to the

public plaza beyond.”

+ 47
 Check out the Honourable Mentions and complete winners’ bios, on the competition

website, here.

News via: Bee Breeders.

 First Prize: The Urban Lighthouse / Michele Busiri-Vici, Clementina Ruggieri,

Matteo Biasiolo, Pino Pavese; Space4Architecture. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 First Prize: The Urban Lighthouse / Michele Busiri-Vici, Clementina Ruggieri,

Matteo Biasiolo, Pino Pavese; Space4Architecture. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 First Prize: The Urban Lighthouse / Michele Busiri-Vici, Clementina Ruggieri,

Matteo Biasiolo, Pino Pavese; Space4Architecture. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 First Prize: The Urban Lighthouse / Michele Busiri-Vici, Clementina Ruggieri,

Matteo Biasiolo, Pino Pavese; Space4Architecture. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 First Prize: The Urban Lighthouse / Michele Busiri-Vici, Clementina Ruggieri,

Matteo Biasiolo, Pino Pavese; Space4Architecture. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders
 First Prize: The Urban Lighthouse / Michele Busiri-Vici, Clementina Ruggieri,
Matteo Biasiolo, Pino Pavese; Space4Architecture. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 First Prize: The Urban Lighthouse / Michele Busiri-Vici, Clementina Ruggieri,

Matteo Biasiolo, Pino Pavese; Space4Architecture. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 First Prize: The Urban Lighthouse / Michele Busiri-Vici, Clementina Ruggieri,

Matteo Biasiolo, Pino Pavese; Space4Architecture. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 First Prize: The Urban Lighthouse / Michele Busiri-Vici, Clementina Ruggieri,

Matteo Biasiolo, Pino Pavese; Space4Architecture. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 First Prize: The Urban Lighthouse / Michele Busiri-Vici, Clementina Ruggieri,

Matteo Biasiolo, Pino Pavese; Space4Architecture. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 First Prize: The Urban Lighthouse / Michele Busiri-Vici, Clementina Ruggieri,

Matteo Biasiolo, Pino Pavese; Space4Architecture. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders
 First Prize: The Urban Lighthouse / Michele Busiri-Vici, Clementina Ruggieri,
Matteo Biasiolo, Pino Pavese; Space4Architecture. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 Second Prize: Kip Island Auditorium / Deyan Saev, Panayiotis Hadjisergis;

Technical University Delft. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 Second Prize: Kip Island Auditorium / Deyan Saev, Panayiotis Hadjisergis;

Technical University Delft. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 Second Prize: Kip Island Auditorium / Deyan Saev, Panayiotis Hadjisergis;

Technical University Delft. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 Second Prize: Kip Island Auditorium / Deyan Saev, Panayiotis Hadjisergis;

Technical University Delft. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 Third Prize: Agir / Moisés Royo, Carlos Orbea, Gonzalo García-Robledo, Cristina
Martín Consuegra. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders
 Second Prize: Kip Island Auditorium / Deyan Saev, Panayiotis Hadjisergis;
Technical University Delft. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 Second Prize: Kip Island Auditorium / Deyan Saev, Panayiotis Hadjisergis;

Technical University Delft. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 Second Prize: Kip Island Auditorium / Deyan Saev, Panayiotis Hadjisergis;

Technical University Delft. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 Third Prize: Agir / Moisés Royo, Carlos Orbea, Gonzalo García-Robledo, Cristina
Martín Consuegra. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 Third Prize: Agir / Moisés Royo, Carlos Orbea, Gonzalo García-Robledo, Cristina
Martín Consuegra. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 Second Prize: Kip Island Auditorium / Deyan Saev, Panayiotis Hadjisergis;

Technical University Delft. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders
 Third Prize: Agir / Moisés Royo, Carlos Orbea, Gonzalo García-Robledo, Cristina
Martín Consuegra. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 Second Prize: Kip Island Auditorium / Deyan Saev, Panayiotis Hadjisergis;

Technical University Delft. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 Second Prize: Kip Island Auditorium / Deyan Saev, Panayiotis Hadjisergis;

Technical University Delft. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 Second Prize: Kip Island Auditorium / Deyan Saev, Panayiotis Hadjisergis;

Technical University Delft. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 Third Prize: Agir / Moisés Royo, Carlos Orbea, Gonzalo García-Robledo, Cristina
Martín Consuegra. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 Third Prize: Agir / Moisés Royo, Carlos Orbea, Gonzalo García-Robledo, Cristina
Martín Consuegra. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders
 Second Prize: Kip Island Auditorium / Deyan Saev, Panayiotis Hadjisergis;
Technical University Delft. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 Third Prize: Agir / Moisés Royo, Carlos Orbea, Gonzalo García-Robledo, Cristina
Martín Consuegra. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 Third Prize: Agir / Moisés Royo, Carlos Orbea, Gonzalo García-Robledo, Cristina
Martín Consuegra. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 Third Prize: Agir / Moisés Royo, Carlos Orbea, Gonzalo García-Robledo, Cristina
Martín Consuegra. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 Second Prize: Kip Island Auditorium / Deyan Saev, Panayiotis Hadjisergis;

Technical University Delft. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 Third Prize: Agir / Moisés Royo, Carlos Orbea, Gonzalo García-Robledo, Cristina
Martín Consuegra. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders
 Second Prize: Kip Island Auditorium / Deyan Saev, Panayiotis Hadjisergis;
Technical University Delft. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 Third Prize: Agir / Moisés Royo, Carlos Orbea, Gonzalo García-Robledo, Cristina
Martín Consuegra. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 Second Prize: Kip Island Auditorium / Deyan Saev, Panayiotis Hadjisergis;

Technical University Delft. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 Second Prize: Kip Island Auditorium / Deyan Saev, Panayiotis Hadjisergis;

Technical University Delft. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 Second Prize: Kip Island Auditorium / Deyan Saev, Panayiotis Hadjisergis;

Technical University Delft. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 Third Prize: Agir / Moisés Royo, Carlos Orbea, Gonzalo García-Robledo, Cristina
Martín Consuegra. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders
 Third Prize: Agir / Moisés Royo, Carlos Orbea, Gonzalo García-Robledo, Cristina
Martín Consuegra. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 Third Prize: Agir / Moisés Royo, Carlos Orbea, Gonzalo García-Robledo, Cristina
Martín Consuegra. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 Second Prize: Kip Island Auditorium / Deyan Saev, Panayiotis Hadjisergis;

Technical University Delft. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 Second Prize: Kip Island Auditorium / Deyan Saev, Panayiotis Hadjisergis;

Technical University Delft. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 Second Prize: Kip Island Auditorium / Deyan Saev, Panayiotis Hadjisergis;

Technical University Delft. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders

 Second Prize: Kip Island Auditorium / Deyan Saev, Panayiotis Hadjisergis;

Technical University Delft. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders
 Navigate articles using your keyboard 

1. ArchDaily 
2. News 
3. Acoustics and Auditoriums: 30 Sections to Guide Your Design

Acoustics and Auditoriums: 30 Sections to

Guide Your Design
Seeing the space of an auditorium in section is a key tool in allowing us to approach a

design's of acoustics, accessibility, and lighting. These components are what make the

design of an auditorium a complex task, requiring detailed and specific studies.

There are a number of ways to design an auditorium that offers multiple responses to

these challenges. For this reason, we have selected a number of sections from different

auditoriums that can help you understand how other architects have solved the

challenge.

Check out the 30 auditorium sections below, they are sure to inspire you!

01. Schouwburg Amphion / Mecanoo

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Sección

+ 151
02. Auditorio Blackberry / Estudio Atemporal

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Sección

+ 151
03. Hancher Auditorium / Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects

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Sección

+ 151
04. Ulumbarra Theatre / Y2 Architecture

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Sección

+ 151
05. Princess Alexandra Auditorium / Associated Architects
LLP

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Sección

+ 151
06. Culture Center / Arkitema Architects

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Sección

+ 151
07. Kadare Cultural Centre / Chiaki Arai Urban and
Architecture Design

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Sección
 + 151
08. Katowice International Conference Centre / JEMS

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Sección
 + 151
09. Winspear Opera House / Foster + Partners

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Sección
 + 151
10. Conservatoire d'Aubervilliers / Agence Chochon-Pierre

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Sección
 + 151
11. El Plaza Condesa / Muñohierro + Esrawe Studio

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Sección
 + 151
12. Engineering School and Auditorium University Campus /
Gerardo Caballero, Maite Fernández

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Sección

+ 151
13. Everyman Theatre / Haworth Tompkins

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Courtesy of Haworth Tompkins

+ 151
14. Sines Center for the Arts / Aires Mateus

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Sección
 + 151
15. Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center / Bora Architects +
Rhotenberry Wellen Architects

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Sección
 + 151
16. Hamer Hall / ARM Architecture

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Sección
 + 151
17. Han Show Theatre / Stufish Entertainment Architects

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 + 151
18. The Cloud / Studio Fuksas

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Sección

+ 151
19. Guangzhou Opera house / Zaha Hadid Architects

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Sección

+ 151
20. Rehabilitación del Teatro Góngora de Córdoba / Rafael de
la-Hoz

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Sección

+ 151
21. Lycee François Truffaut Multi-purpose Hall / f.au

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+ 151
22. Auditorio A / Eduardo Souto de Moura + Graça Correia

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Sección

+ 151
23. Stormen / DRDH Architects
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Sección

+ 151
24. Auditorium Theatre of Llinars del Valles / Álvaro Siza
Vieira + Aresta + G.O.P.

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Sección
 + 151
25. Bahrain National Theatre / Architecture-Studio

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+ 151
26. National Theatre / Haworth Tompkins

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+ 151
27. Albi Grand Theater / Dominique Perrault Architecture

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 + 151
28. Theatre de Kampanje / van Dongen-Koschuch

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+ 151
29. Kuopio City Theatre / ALA Architects

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+ 151
30. Municipal Theater of Guarda / AVA Architects

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1. The Auditorium / Paredes Pedrosa

The Auditorium / Paredes Pedrosa

© Fernando Alda

+ 16
 Architects

Paredes Pedrosa

 Location

Lugo, Spain
 Architects in Charge

Ángela García de Paredes, Ignacio G. Pedrosa

 Area

14647.55 m2

 Project Year

2016

More Specs

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© Fernando Alda

From the architect. The Auditorium, as the old roman walls of the city of Lugo, has a

strong link to the existing site and to the topography. The project involves rearranging

the relationships between the open spaces of the slope and the city. The building is

organized between two levels: a lower one related to the city and to the avenue and an

upper level related to the existing gardens where the entrance to the music halls is

placed. Parallel to the avenue the entrance to the congress area builds up the

Auditorium’s representative image towards the city.

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 © Fernando Alda

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Exploded Axonometry

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 © Fernando Alda

A long and irregular shaped volume hosts the programme where public areas link a

series of different spaces connected by a large continuous lobby. The music halls, for

900 and 300 seats are designed also for theatre and both are placed over the slope

overlooking the garden with natural light.

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 © Fernando Alda

The building has a double image, a fragmented small-scale image towards the garden

and a continuous glass curtain wall with different transparencies and heights towards

the city, conceived as a large vernacular gallery.

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 © Fernando Alda

 © Fernando Alda

 © Fernando Alda

 © Fernando Alda

 © Fernando Alda
 © Fernando Alda

 © Fernando Alda

 © Fernando Alda

 © Fernando Alda

 © Fernando Alda

 © Fernando Alda
 © Fernando Alda

 Model

 Location

 Site Plan

 Elevation

 Exploded Axonometry
How to Design Theater Seating, Shown
Through 21 Detailed Example Layouts

Audience sightlines, accessibility and acoustics all make theater seating a hugely

precise art. As part of their set of online resources for architects and designers, the

team at Theatre Solutions Inc (TSI) have put together a catalog of 21 examples of

theater seating layouts. Each layout is well detailed, with information on the number of

seats, the floor seating area and row spacing. These layouts fall under three general

forms; to supplement this information, alongside TSI's diagrams we've included the pros

and cons of each type, as well as examples of projects which use each format. Read on

for more.

+ 32
1. End Stage
Save this picture!

Courtesy of Theatre Solutions Inc.

In the End Stage form, the entire audience faces the stage in the same direction.

Sightlines are kept simple, making these layouts perfect for lectures, films and slide-

based presentations. They also fit well into conventional rectangular plans.

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Courtesy of Theatre Solutions Inc.

However, End Stages are not overly successful at creating a close relationship between

performer and spectator. Theatres in this form also can’t be too large due to acoustic

limits.
 + 32
Examples:

The Blyth Perfoming Arts Centre / Stevens Lawson Architects

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The Blyth
Performing Arts Centre / Stevens Lawson Architects. Image © Mark Smith
Theatre Agora / UNStudio

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Theatre
Agora / UNStudio. Image © Iwan Baan

Municipal Theatre of Guarda / AVA Architects

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 Municipal Theater of
Guarda / AVA Architects. Image © Fernando Guerra

2. Wide Fan

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Courtesy of Theatre Solutions Inc.

In this form, theatre seats are placed within a 130-degree angle of inclusion. This brings

in the audience closer to the performer, establishing a more intimate experience.

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Courtesy of Theatre Solutions Inc.

This angling also means that the form is better geared towards speech-related

performances. Film presentations would be trickier in these spaces, with screens

requiring proper positioning – perhaps further back from the stage, to compensate for

seats that find their sightlines distorted. 

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Courtesy of Theatre Solutions Inc.

+ 32
Examples:

National Grand Theatre of China / Paul Andreu

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 National Grand Theater of China /
Paul Andreu

Ulumbarra Theatre / Y2 Architecture

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Ulumbarra Theatre / Y2 Architecture.

Image © Peter Clarke
Limoges Concert Hall / Bernard Tschumi Architects

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Limoges Concert Hall. Image Courtesy of

Bernard Tschumi Architects

3. ¾ Arena

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Courtesy of Theatre Solutions Inc.

¾ arenas see a 180-270-degree angle of inclusion. Hearing and visual contact between

spectator and performer is improved, and as audience members can see each other

when facing ahead, the sense of inclusion is increased even more.

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Courtesy of Theatre Solutions Inc.

However, conventional film presentations are almost impossible and would require an

alternative screen layout, such as a number of smaller screens arranged throughout the

space.

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Courtesy of Theatre Solutions Inc.

Examples:

Han Show Theatre / Stufish Entertainment Architects

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 Han Show Theatre / Stufish
Entertainment Architects. Image Courtesy of Stufish Entertainment Architects

Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre / REX + OMA

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Dee and Charles Wyly

Theatre / REX + OMA. Image © Iwan Baan

Hardelot Theatre / Studio Andrew Todd

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 Hardelot Theatre /
Studio Andrew Todd. Image © Martin Argyroglo

4. Other Layout Options

While the above three tend to be the most common forms of seating layout, they are by

no means the only ones. Further options include Arena seating where the audience

wraps around the stage a full 360 degrees, common for extra-large theaters like

the Royal Albert Hall, and the Vineyard style where seats are arranged in cascades of

mini-blocks of varying levels, including the rear of the stage, as seen in the Hamburg

Elbphilharmonie.

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 Hamburg
Elbphilharmonie / Herzog & de Meuron. Image © Iwan Baan

Or even more differently, Bijlmer Park Theatre is a hybrid between End Stage and

¾ Arena, with flexible pull-out seating turning it from one to another, while The Wave’s

seating takes after its namesake.

For more detail on designing auditoriums, including info such as seat spacing and the

slope of the auditorium, check out TSI's comprehensive article here.

Hancher Auditorium / Pelli Clarke Pelli
Architects

© Goldberg/Esto

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 Architects

Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects

 Location

Iowa City, IA, USA

 Area

190000.0 ft2

 Project Year

2016

 Photographs

Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects

More Specs

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From the architect. Hancher

Widely recognized for commissioning new works of dance and music, Hancher reaches

audiences well beyond the University of Iowa. The new home for this renowned

institution occupies a prominent location in Iowa City.

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© Goldberg/Esto

Overall Planning/Massing

The design responds to its site and context on the exterior, and to its program and

planning adjacencies on the interior. The exterior building design is specifically

influenced by the Iowa River to its east, Park Road and City Park to its north, the Levitt

Center to its west, and the Arts Campus to its south. The long sweeping curves of the

building respond to the bend and flow of the Iowa River and its surrounding topography.

Its tapered and cantilevered forms allow for the maximum amount of transparency at all

levels of the public lobbies. Smaller scaled elements along Park Road echo the forms of
the adjacent Levitt Center.  The Levitt Center’s rotunda, along with the Hancher

Rehearsal Room volume, forms a metaphorical gateway to the Arts campus. 

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Site Plan

There are two ADA accessible, pubic entrances at the south east and south-west corners

of the building. The loading dock and loading court off of Park road was designed to

accommodate large turning radii required by semi-trucks. Three berths/truck-docks load

into the scene dock/transfer area, which is directly adjacent to the main stage. The

dressing rooms, the production offices, crew rooms are all designed for maximum

efficiency and convenient stage relationships.

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 © Goldberg/Esto

Exterior Materials

The exterior skin is comprised of stainless steel and glass ribbons. The cypress wood

soffits lend a welcoming and inviting quality to the building, enhancing the natural

warmth of the spaces as it transitions from exterior to the interior. 

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© Goldberg/Esto
Lobby

All public spaces offer panoramic views of the river and the campus. The lobby atrium is

a light filled space with a ribbon like terrazzo grand stair threading and connecting the

four lobby levels on its ascent. The west wall of the lobby expresses the shaping and

movement of the building and is finished in a special pearlescent plaster. The skylights

that appear on different levels reinforce the shape of the building and allows for

dramatic secondary lighting and transparency.

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© Goldberg/Esto

Hall

The new auditorium creates an intimate experience between the patrons and the

performers on stage. The curved, sweeping balconies and terraces continue the idea of
the exterior ribbons throughout the interior of the hall. The individually adjustable arced

LED lighting fixtures reinforce the shape and geometry of both the building and the hall

and creates a dramatic theatrical experience. A collapsible orchestra shell, adjustable

acoustics, AV systems and production lighting allow the hall to be tailored specifically

for performances ranging from orchestra and opera to Broadway presentations and

dance. 

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© Goldberg/Esto

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Section

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Rehearsal Room

Although the rehearsal room has its own exterior entrance, a grand gallery connects it

to the main lobby. This acoustically and theatrically flexible room can host events

ranging from receptions to experimental theater, including potential events utilizing the

acoustically glazed north wall and intimate outdoor amphitheater. 

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© Goldberg/Esto

Product Description. The exterior stainless steel panel system was custom

manufactured by AWS, Architectural Wall Systems, of Iowa. This rain screen panel

system is made of 18”x60” 2mm thick stainless steel panels. The panels utilize a non-

directional brushed finish that diffuses the light and reflection. They are installed in a

staggered pattern and are non-sequential, allowing individual panels to be changed at

any time. Architecturally, this results in a taught and subtly textured skin that sublimely

reflects the ever-changing sky, sunlight, and landscape.

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 © Goldberg/Esto

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 Site Plan

 Site Plan

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