Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 1983 - 45

ARCHITECTURE . ..

COlllillued from page 25

system is designed to reproduce prerecorded
mono,
stereo
and
quadraphonic tapes, The reinforcement
system consists of multiple loudspeakers
calibrated and time-delayed -0 that the
listener identifies the performer on
stage, not the loudspeakers, as the
sound source,

Dressing rooms, practice studios and instrument storage areas are included
within the building, Scenery, constructed at a separate location, can be
brought directly on stage through a
direct receiving dock,
Wood-grain textured concrete finish
was used on the building exterior and in-

terior exposed walls, providing durable,
maintenance- free acoustically reflective
surfaces as well as sound isolation from
the urrounding environment.
The building, completed in i\lay,
1975, was constructed and fully
equipped for }2, 175,000,

including circuses, ice shows, conventions and trade expositions as well as
providing, with 4,000 folding chairs, a
home for the Grand Rapids Symphony
Orchestra, A lower level columned
space offers additonal exhibition area,
A program for expansion of this
facility, contiguou to it on adjacent
land, will include approximately 60,000
square feet of long span exhibition space
on t\\'o levels coincident with the two
main floors of the present building, a
meeting room and banquet complex,
and a 2,500 seat auditorium with appropriate sightlines and acoustics to
sen'e as a showcase for opera, ballet,
drama, musical shows and foren ic
e\-ents, with a fully-rigged stage, rehearsal and dressing rooms, scenery and
costume shops, and ample lobby and intenni ion space,

conventions and expositions.
Seating in the new auditorium is arranged on the orchestra floor, loge and
balcony with side loges, boxes and dress
circle on the sides bringing the audience
to within a few feet of the stage. These
sections of tiered seating are separated
and suspended on columns and beams
held free of the acoustical "envelope" to
provide sufficient openings between the
audience pace and the foyer below and
office above so that all three volumes
are acou tically "coupled" and contribute to the proper reverberation time
required for the performance of serious
music.
Openings between the array of fixed
ceiling reflectors are shuttered down by
additional movable reflectors to reduce
the "coupling" effect for dramatic performance. Absorbent fabric i unfurled within the attic space to further
10\\-ef the re\'erberat ion time.
A grand stair in the foyer space lead
to mezzanine and promenade intermi. sion areas wit h vie\\'s of the city and the
Granel River.

George W. Welsh Civic Auditorium
Expansion Project
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Owner:
Joint City of Grand Rapids/
Kent County Building Authority

Architects:
Harry Weese & Associates, Architects
Daverman Associates, Associate
Architects

Theatre Design and Technology:
George C. lzenour Associates

Room Acoustics: Dr. Lothar Cremer
Accoustical Separation and Details:
Lyle Yerges

Structural Systems and Concepts:
The Engineers Collaborative

Structural Engineering:
Daverman Associates

Electro/Mechanical Systems and
Concepts:
Cosentini Associates

Electro/Mechanical Engineering:
Daverman Associates

Landscape Architects:
Joe Karr & Associates

Interior Design: Design

nit

Traffic and Parking Planning:
Barton-Aschman A sociates

Cost Control:
Han comb As ociate

Completion: 1979
Seating Capacity: 2500
Expected se:
Concert, opera, ballet, musical comedy,
drama, recital and forensic

Sited on the Grand Ri\'er in downtO\\"I1
Grand Rapids, :'\Iichigan, the fifty-ycarold George \\', Wei h Civic Auditorium
building house~ a multi-purpose f1atfloored arena used for most of the major spectator e\'ents in the community,

Adjacent structured parking for ::00 car
\\-ill supplement the parking beneath
Vandenberg Center, on the other side of
:'\Ionroe Street, and a pedestrian bridge
will cross i\lonroe to link the center of
go\ernment and the center for the arts,

LJSITT Spring 1983 Thealre De,ign &

Terhnol()g~

-13
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 1983
