Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 1996 - 34

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.1. The dmamic approach fa\Drs an articulated. tension-structured. acousticallr
dampened. electro-mechanical1r driren all
sleel ceiling Irith camile\ered side I\alls
I\hich store against and pirot out into plaring
position from the rear II'all and proscenium
Iralls of the stage house. This clearh prorides
the onlr acoustical shell I\hich requires no
offstage space for storage and the minimal
erection and storage requirements of as fell'
as t\\'o technical personnel and an elapsed
time of .10 minutes.

Theatre and Media Facilities Design

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IAUERBACH+GlaSOW

Lighting Designers and Consultanrs

1045 Sansome Sf.
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Fax 415392 7530

HISTORIC
PERSPECTJ\'E

It is Ilell-knolm among professionals that mr
attitude tolrard building budgets and the drnamic approach to theater design-engineel c
ing. acoustics and architecture is a lIIodus
operandi based on contemporary adaptation
of established design and engineering principles which are derired from the three seminal buildings for the performing arts in
modern times:
* The FestspieUlaus Bayreuth (lS-6). for
seating geomellY
* The Chicago Auditorium Theater (IS89).
for Uleater engineering
* Boston Sll11phonr Hall (1900). for
acoustical geomelI~'
In mr rielI'. common sense reasoning
dictates that the "open loop" BaITeuth stde of
democratic auditorium design is the preferred
renue. I reject out of hand the "closed loop"
socially-stratified auditorium of the ISth centun High Baroque and the 19th centurr "eo
Baroque as incompatible to the design and
least favorable to engineering fle\.ibility. This
veil' reasoning casts the economic realities of
the "here and nOlI''' into ever-higher relief.

HE BASIS FOR Lr\X-\~IIC
THEXITR DESIG;\ .-\;\[)
E;\GI;\EERI;\C

Traditionally. an auditorium is a double-structured bUilding..-\ massire primarr e\terior
structure prorides both weather corering and
support for a more fragile secondal~' interior
substructure. The design and engineering of
the substructure and the interrelationship belIreen the primarr structure and substructure
are e\er-changing in the traditional design
.12

TD&T

process. primarily due to budgetarr constraims. In a static approach to theater design.
the discussion of the substructure is reduced
to a matter of pure architecllIral consideration Irhich either ignores the seating. rolumetric and acoustic dl'llamics of the
auditorium altogether. or. Irith professional
help in acoustics. limits the drnamic aspect of
theater design to alteration of the re\erberation time alone.
But the substrucllIre cannot be reduced
thuslr. It must be regarded comprehensirelr
and an understanding of this interrelation is
of crucial importance in this consultant's dynamic approach to the design of the multipleuse concert hall-theater..-\ closer look at the
evolution of the engineering vernacular
speaks rolumes about technology. changing
times and our economr.
In the beginning. dmamic control of auditorium rolume. seating capacitr and the
acoustical ambiance thereof II'as achieved br
means of programmed electro-mechanicaLly
driven and coumenreighted substrucllIres.
i.e. first reflectire ceilings articulated Irith
programmed absorption. etc. and Irere emplored in the theater engineering design at
Jesse Jones Hall (1966). 1IIcCain .-\uditorium
at Kansas State lnirersity (1971) and Akron
lni\'ersi~'s Edwin Thomas Hall (19-3).
As time Irent on and budgets became
erer more precarious. these substructures became both less massire and less comprehensive. Aminimum of permanently moumed first
reflectors articulated Irith primarr structure
were accompanied bl' a rariet\' of morable
trans-sondanl risual barriers I\ith programmed absorption positioned in an upper
\Did rererberation chamber). E\amples of
this later dmamic approach to theater design
include the George 1IIason Performing Arts
Center in Fairf;L\. Yirginia (1991) and the
\'ern Riffe Center for the Performing Arts at
Shalmee State lnirersitr in Portsmouth. Ohio
(1996).
Without e\ception. each of these projects
Iras programmed for raning combinations of
spoken drama. the performance of classical
music for concert and recital. jazz. musical
comedr. opera. ballet. modern dance. cinema.
multimedia. public fora. lectures.
etc. ...dil·erse programming requirements to
be sure. Each design successhIlI\ resulted
from ingenioush applied but conselyatilehengineered automated first reflection acoustical sub-structures of one kind or another
and/or trans-sondam risual barriers used in

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 1996