aeARCHITECTURE & ENTERTAINMENT

Issue 01 / March 2017 / 12 €

STUDIO ANDREW TODD REX ARCHITECTURE

A+ARCHITECTURE ARKPABI OPENLAB COMPANY

AT&T PERFORMING ARTS CENTER Photos by Iwan Baan

The dallas TheaTer ceNTer (dTc) was FOuNded IN 1959, aNd was ONe OF TheFIrsT reGIONal TheaTres IN The uNITed sTaTes. bY 1984, The dTc was hOusedIN The arTs dIsTrIcT TheaTer, a buIldING desIGNed bY sTaGe desIGNer euGeNelee, aNd was esseNTIallY a PlaIN MeTal barN. KNOwN FOr hIGh-cONcePTexPerIMeNTal wOrK, The dTc ThrIved IN ThIs eNvIrONMeNT, TaKING Full arTIsTIcadvaNTaGe OF The lIMITless cONFIGuraTIONs Made avaIlable bY The MaKeshIFTNaTure OF The buIldING.IT was durING ThIs PerIOd ThaT aN aMbITIOus PlaN was beING FOrMed TO creaTea culTural dIsTrIcT ThaT wOuld INclude TheaTre, daNce, vIsual arTs, aNdeducaTION. ThIs PlaN MeaNT MOvING The PhYsIcal hOMes OF These OrGaNIZaTIONsTO a 68-acre, 19-blOcK NeIGhbOurhOOd sITuaTed IN dallas’s dOwNTOwN. ThedIsTrIcT’s archITecTure wOuld INclude buIldINGs desIGNed bY FOur PrITZKerPrIZe wINNers aNd aN aIa “GOld Medal” recIPIeNT.

DESIGNED BY REX/OMA JOSHUA PRINCE-RAMUS & REM KOOLHAASDEE AND CHARLES WYLY THEATRE

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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.”

DESIGNED BY REX/OMA JOSHUA PRINCE-RAMUS & REM KOOLHAAS

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.

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Photos by Iwan Baan

Photo by Tim Hursley

stacking the wyly Theatre’sancillary facilities above- and

below-house also liberates theperformance chamber’s

entire perimeter. No longerseparated by transitional and

technical zones - such aslobbies, ticket counters, andbackstage facilities - fantasy

and reality can mix when andwhere desired. directors can

incorporate the dallas skylineand streetscape into

performances at will, as theauditorium is enclosed by an

acoustic glass façade withoptional black-out blinds...

and panels that canbe opened to

allow patrons or per-formers to enter theauditorium directly

from outside,……bypassing the

downstairs drop-off... and lobby.

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On a Friday night, patrons can share lear’ssorrow in a dark and quiet thrust theatre.

by investing ininfrastructure that

allows readytransformation

and liberating theperformance

chamber’sperimeter, thewyly Theatre

grants its artisticdirectors freedomto determine the

entire theatreexperience, from

audience arrival toperformance

configuration todeparture.

To increase company cohesion,back-of-house spaces dedicated

to performers and administratorsare intertwined above-house.

Then saturdayevening, against the

dramatic backdrop ofthe dallas cityscape,

the audience can joinvladimir and

estragon in their vigilfor Godot, in a

prosceniumauditorium now

stripped of itscomforting cocoon. Ph

oto

cour

tesy

of

rex

bY adaPTING PrOveNTechNOlOGIes FOr Newuses, The TheaTre caN bealTered INTO a wIde arraYOF cONFIGuraTIONs -INcludING PrOsceNIuM,ThrusT, areNa, Traverse,sTudIO, aNd FlaT FlOOrcONFIGuraTIONs - wITh ONlYa sMall crew IN a FewhOurs. dIrecTOrs aNdsceNIc desIGNers areeMPOwered TO selecT OrINveNT The sTaGe-audIeNcecONFIGuraTION ThaTFulFIlls TheIr arTIsTIcdesIres, FacIlITaTINGexPerIMeNTaTION. each OFThe Three 135-TON balcONYTOwers, bOTh sTaIr TOwers,aNd The PrOsceNIuM caN berePOsITIONed Or lIFTed OuTOF sIGhT usING sPOrTINGareNa scOrebOard lIFTs.

Photos by Iwan Baan

This unprecedentedstacked designtransforms thebuilding into a

“theatre machine”that extends the

freedoms of the flytower over the

auditorium.

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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 performanceand 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 centerKEY AWARDS: American Institute of Architects’ 2011 National Honor Award; American Council of EngineeringCompanies’ 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 urbansurroundings.

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 PrOduced a cOMPlexsYsTeM FOr ThIs PrOjecT,cONsIsTING OF a larGePrOsceNIuM lIFT, 2 seaTINGwaGONs, 5 sMaller seaTING lIFTs,12 scIssOr lIFTs aNd 6TurNTables, all OPeraTed bYwIreless TOuch screeN cONTrOl.

seraPId sTaGe sYsTeMsWERE SELECTED FOr Thedee aNd charles wYlYTheaTre PrOjecTbecause OF The levelsOF cONTrOl aNdsTabIlITY OFFered,cOMbINed wITh aNexTreMelY lOw NOIsecharacTerIsTIc.

wITh seraPIdsYsTeMs The sTaGe

cONFIGuraTION caN bechaNGed quIcKlY aNd

PrecIselY, PrOvIdING ThedYNaMIsM The

veNue requIred.

Photos by Tim Hursley