ARCHITECTURE & ENTERTAINMENT

Issue 01 / March 2017 / 12 € ae

STUDIO ANDREW TODD REX ARCHITECTURE A+ARCHITECTURE ARKPABI OPENLAB COMPANY Photos by Iwan Baan AT&T PERFORMING ARTS CENTER DEE AND CHARLES WYLY THEATR E DESIGNED BY REX/OMA J OSHUA PRINCE -R AMUS & R EM KOOLHAAS

The TheaTer ceNTer (dTc) was FOuNded IN 1959, aNd was ONe OF The FIrsT reGIONal TheaTres IN The uNITed sTaTes . b Y 1984, The dTc was hOused IN The arTs dIsTrIcT TheaTer , a buIldING desIGNed bY sTaGe desIGNer euGeNe lee , aNd was esseNTIallY a PlaIN MeTal barN . K NOwN FOr hIGh -cONcePT exPerIMeNTal wOrK , The dTc ThrIved IN ThIs eNvIrONMeNT , TaKING Full arTIsTIc advaNTaGe OF The lIMITless cONFIGuraTIONs Made avaIlable bY The MaKeshIFT NaTure OF The buIldING . IT was durING ThIs PerIOd ThaT aN aMbITIOus PlaN was beING FOrMed TO creaTe a culTural dIsTrIcT ThaT wOuld INclude TheaTre , daNce , vIsual arTs , aNd educaTION . T hIs PlaN MeaNT MOvING The PhYsIcal hOMes OF These OrGaNIZaTIONs TO a 68- acre , 19- blOcK NeIGhbOurhOOd sITuaTed IN dallas ’s dOwNTOwN . T he dIsTrIcT ’s archITecTure wOuld INclude buIldINGs desIGNed bY FOur PrITZKer PrIZe wINNers aNd aN aIa “G Old Medal ” recIPIeNT .

20 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.

DESIGNED BY REX/OMA JOSHUA PRINCE-RAMUS &

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.”

21 Photo by Tim Hursley stacking the wyly Theatre’s ancillary facilities above- and below-house also liberates the performance chamber’s entire perimeter. No longer separated by transitional and technical zones - such as lobbies, ticket counters, and backstage facilities - fantasy and reality can mix when and where desired. directors can incorporate the dallas skyline and streetscape into performances at will, as the auditorium is enclosed by an acoustic glass façade with optional black-out blinds...

Photos by Iwan Baan

and panels that can be opened to allow patrons or per - formers to enter the auditorium directly from outside,… …bypassing the downstairs drop- off... and lobby. 22 by investing in infrastructure that allows ready transformation and liberating the performance chamber’s perimeter, the wyly Theatre grants its artistic directors freedom to determine the entire theatre experience, from audience arrival to performance configuration to departure.

To increase company cohesion, back-of-house spaces dedicated to performers and administrators are intertwined above-house. On a Friday night, patrons can share lear’s sorrow in a dark and quiet thrust theatre.

Then saturday evening, against the dramatic backdrop of the dallas cityscape, the audience can join vladimir and estragon in their vigil for Godot, in a proscenium auditorium now stripped of its

comforting cocoon. courtesyPhoto of rex bY adaPTING PrOveN TechNOlOGIes FOr New uses , The TheaTre caN be alTered INTO a wIde arraY OF cONFIGuraTIONs - INcludING PrOsceNIuM , ThrusT , areNa , Traverse , sTudIO , aNd FlaT FlOOr cONFIGuraTIONs - wITh ONlY a sMall crew IN a Few hOurs . d IrecTOrs aNd sceNIc desIGNers are eMPOwered TO selecT Or INveNT The sTaGe -audIeNce cONFIGuraTION ThaT FulFIlls TheIr arTIsTIc desIres , FacIlITaTING exPerIMeNTaTION . e ach OF The Three 135- TON balcONY TOwers , bOTh sTaIr TOwers , aNd The PrOsceNIuM caN be rePOsITIONed Or lIFTed OuT OF sIGhT usING sPOrTING areNa scOrebOard lIFTs .

Photos by Iwan Baan This unprecedented stacked design transforms the building into a “theatre machine” that extends the freedoms of the fly tower over the auditorium.

24 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 performance and 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,

CLIENT: aT&T Performing arts center KEY AWARDS: American Institute of Architects’ 2011 National Honor Award; American Council of Engineering Companies’ 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 urban surroundings.

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 sTaGe sYsTeMs WERE SELECTED FOr The dee aNd charles wYlY TheaTre PrOjecT because OF The levels OF cONTrOl aNd sTabIlITY OFFered , cOMbINed wITh aN exTreMelY lOw NOIse characTerIsTIc .

wITh seraPId sYsTeMs The sTaGe cONFIGuraTION caN be chaNGed quIcKlY aNd PrecIselY , PrOvIdING The dYNaMIsM The veNue requIred .

Photos by Tim Hursley

seraPId PrOduced a cOMPlex sYsTeM FOr ThIs PrOjecT , cONsIsTING OF a larGe PrOsceNIuM lIFT , 2 seaTING waGONs , 5 sMaller seaTING lIFTs , 12 scIssOr lIFTs aNd 6 TurNTables , all OPeraTed bY wIreless TOuch screeN cONTrOl .