Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 2021 - 51

New Brunswick Performing Arts Center
leverages the latest technology to create a
safe space for all-theatregoers, performers,
artists, professionals, and residences of
the shared 23-story building

BY THOMAS RENNER

s theatre owners and
producers push the performance envelope to create the most entertaining
show possible, building architects and construction
teams struggle to meet those demands
while also keeping performers, audiences,
and theatre employees as safe as possible.
The New Brunswick Performing Arts
Center (NBPAC) in New Jersey, which
opened in September 2019, added another dynamic to theatre safety: It shares a
23-story building with 207 upscale apartments. The $172 million high-rise is located about 40 miles south of Manhattan and
will soon host a variety of performances.
According to NBPAC, " The state-of-the-art
center will immediately take its rightful
place as one of the Northeast's premier
venues for musical, dance, and theatrical
performances. "
The team at Elkus Manfredi Architects,
which designed the building, reported that
meeting demands for residential and commercial codes, style preferences, energy
performance, and numerous other design
goals was like designing a monolithic jigsaw puzzle and then putting it together.
As is the case with every building, the first
priority for the NBPAC was to guarantee
its structural stability. Architectural elements for fire safety are only one of the
many precautions needed for residents,
performers, audiences, and employees.
The many other architectural elements,
either for safety, aesthetics, or building
functionality, must also be chosen with
attention to detail. It can be complicated,
costly, and time-consuming.
" The project was conceived architecturally as a single structure containing unseparated mixed uses such as assembly

(theatres, rehearsal spaces, and lobbies),
residential (apartments), storage (backof-house spaces), and business (offices),''
says Andrew Goetze, project manager
for Elkus Manfredi. " The building construction type was selected based on the
need for the floor and vertical support assemblies to provide the required fire resistance assembly for each of the uses. "
The New Brunswick Development
Corp., which spearheaded the project,
started to obtain funding in 2010 and
construction began in 2017. Christopher
Paladino, the corporation's president, estimates the facility will create about $20
million for the local economy.

Fire Safety

While all buildings must meet fire codes
established by the National Fire Protection
Association and the International Building
Code, both organizations have additional
requirements that are specific to theatres
and other places of assembly. Since the
early 1900s, building and fire codes have
required ventilation over stages. The vents
draw smoke, heat, and other combustive elements from a fire away from the
audience. The NBPAC project includes
eight acoustically rated BILCO Company
smoke vents, which guard against noise
intrusion while providing the security of
automatic smoke venting from the stage
houses in the two theatres. " We were familiar with the manufacturer from previous projects and they offered the most
advantageous sizes, " Goetze says. " The
fire code stipulates that a certain percentage of the stage area needs to be properly
vented, and BILCO had sizes that fit the
bill. "
The number of smoke vents used in
any application varies based on the size
WINTER 2021 | THEATRE DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY

| 51

Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 2021