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- 1. _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ Report Information from ProQuest April 02 2014 04:59 _______________________________________________________________ 02 April 2014 ProQuest
- 2. Table of contents 1. Cultural places serve up soul food. Whether the institution is an art gallery, museum, theatre or concert hall, the visitor should leave reinvigorated, refreshed by the encounter......................................................... 1 02 April 2014 ii ProQuest
- 3. Document 1 of 1 Cultural places serve up soul food. Whether the institution is an art gallery, museum, theatre or concert hall, the visitor should leave reinvigorated, refreshed by the encounter Author: Alioff, Maurie; Warson, Albert; MacDougall, Jyl; Thompson, Sophia ProQuest document link Abstract (Abstract): Cultural places serve up soul food. Whether the institution is an art gallery, museum, theatre or concert hall, the visitor should leave reinvigorated, refreshed by the encounter. Of primary importance ar the objects viewed, music absorbed, theatre experienced. But the environment must reflect and also support the art presented. That means more than the usual attention paid to lighting, acoustics and mood -- high drama for a theatre, the essence of simplicity for a photogallery, a concert hall where sound wraps itself around the listener. On the next pages we present eight places that meet these criteria of reflecting and supporting their art. Places to visit that soothe the soul. THE WEDGE GALLERY Unconventional. It's a familiar word in art gallery nomenclature. But even within this artistic realm, The Wedge Gallery distinguishes itself. The gallery is highly unconventional in all aspects: its owner, its designer, its design. The Wedge Gallery's owner is Ken Montague, a popular Toronto dentist (voted Toronto's best dentist two years running in a newsmagazine readers' poll) who is also a trained musician, an art lover and collector. Montague wanted to create a space, the parameters of which would incorporate his various passions. The result is unique: a home, an acoustically perfect environment and a place for showing art -- The Wedge Gallery. Montague chose designer Del Terrelonge for the task of creating this unusual space. Terrelonge is a well-known Toronto restauranteur and graphic designer who recently took his artistic talents with flat surfaces to three-dimensional forms. To Terrelonge this transition was relatively easy for, despite the obvious differences, "it's all a matter of purity of colour, image and thought; that's what you are trying to do in the space." One this project's positive points was that client and designer are philosophically aligned. Montague and Terrelonge share the same tendency to use the arts as a means of communication and both are highly community-minded. The design incorporates and reflects this like- mindedness. A creative outlook was particularly essential in overcoming a number of major challenges that existed at the project's onset. The main one was this: How can you create public gallery space and private living quarters, which are visually appealing and highly functional, within a 1,500-square-foot box? Terrelonge likens it to solving a Rubik's cube: "The minute you worked out something in one area, you ended up with a problem somewhere else." Key to solving this puzzle were Terrelonge's use of balance, light and flexible, multifunctional spacial areas. Balance now exists at a number of levels: between cool and warm materials; between public and private space; between positive and negative space. The design solution finds a two-level environment in which clearly defined areas flow seamlessly together. The lower area is an 800-square-foot multi-functional public environment that houses an art gallery, an office and guest suite plus an area that serves a host of purposes, from multimedia room, to dining, meeting and party room. A 700-square-foot private space comprises the upper level. Terrelonge's consistent use of design and materials and a conscious effort to provide balance creates a strong, unifying link between the levels. If you achieve balance you know the space is going to work," Terrelonge says. The materials used throughout are glass, stone and a mixture of warm woods. A 12-foot-high wall of sandblasted glass anchors the lower floor and divides the gallery corridor from the multi-purpose office, guest and meeting room space. This glass "wedge" allows natural light to fill the entire space and is also a focal point and inspiration for the gallery's name. Sandblasted glass partitions, together with pocket sliding doors, help foster an open, light-filled, airy atmosphere while providing for the all-important options of separate spaces and multiple functions. Glass coolness is heated up by warm woods, with elm millwork and maple-stained hardwood floors. In the gallery corridor, works of art hang on a light cream-coloured wall offering the perfect backdrop -- a smooth, expansive sheet of white that stretches a full 16 feet. The space's relative narrowness 02 April 2014 Page 1 of 9 ProQuest
- 4. favors small-scale art, which is why The Wedge predominantly exhibits photographs; primarily those of up- and- coming Canadian photographers. SOURCES: Concrete: M.E.B. Millwork Flooring: Allbright Lighting: Stonco Glazing: All Team Glass TATAR ALEXANDER PHOTOGALLERY The 1,600-square-foot space originally presented the Toronto design firm Cecconi Simone Inc. with an impressive challenge: that of creating a stellar photogallery -- with viewing area, inventory storage facilities, client presentation area, reception area and private offices -- in an extremely competitive district and within the constraints of limited space and budget. Through a host of highly innovative solutions, Cecconi Simone met the challenge. Full text: Cultural places serve up soul food. Whether the institution is an art gallery, museum, theatre or concert hall, the visitor should leave reinvigorated, refreshed by the encounter. Of primary importance ar the objects viewed, music absorbed, theatre experienced. But the environment must reflect and also support the art presented. That means more than the usual attention paid to lighting, acoustics and mood -- high drama for a theatre, the essence of simplicity for a photogallery, a concert hall where sound wraps itself around the listener. On the next pages we present eight places that meet these criteria of reflecting and supporting their art. Places to visit that soothe the soul. THE WEDGE GALLERY Unconventional. It's a familiar word in art gallery nomenclature. But even within this artistic realm, The Wedge Gallery distinguishes itself. The gallery is highly unconventional in all aspects: its owner, its designer, its design. The Wedge Gallery's owner is Ken Montague, a popular Toronto dentist (voted Toronto's best dentist two years running in a newsmagazine readers' poll) who is also a trained musician, an art lover and collector. Montague wanted to create a space, the parameters of which would incorporate his various passions. The result is unique: a home, an acoustically perfect environment and a place for showing art -- The Wedge Gallery. Montague chose designer Del Terrelonge for the task of creating this unusual space. Terrelonge is a well-known Toronto restauranteur and graphic designer who recently took his artistic talents with flat surfaces to three-dimensional forms. To Terrelonge this transition was relatively easy for, despite the obvious differences, "it's all a matter of purity of colour, image and thought; that's what you are trying to do in the space." One this project's positive points was that client and designer are philosophically aligned. Montague and Terrelonge share the same tendency to use the arts as a means of communication and both are highly community-minded. The design incorporates and reflects this like- mindedness. A creative outlook was particularly essential in overcoming a number of major challenges that existed at the project's onset. The main one was this: How can you create public gallery space and private living quarters, which are visually appealing and highly functional, within a 1,500-square-foot box? Terrelonge likens it to solving a Rubik's cube: "The minute you worked out something in one area, you ended up with a problem somewhere else." Key to solving this puzzle were Terrelonge's use of balance, light and flexible, multifunctional spacial areas. Balance now exists at a number of levels: between cool and warm materials; between public and private space; between positive and negative space. The design solution finds a two-level environment in which clearly defined areas flow seamlessly together. The lower area is an 800-square-foot multi-functional public environment that houses an art gallery, an office and guest suite plus an area that serves a host of purposes, from multimedia room, to dining, meeting and party room. A 700-square-foot private space comprises the upper level. Terrelonge's consistent use of design and materials and a conscious effort to provide balance creates a strong, unifying link between the levels. If you achieve balance you know the space is going to work," Terrelonge says. The materials used throughout are glass, stone and a mixture of warm woods. A 12-foot-high wall of sandblasted glass anchors the lower floor and divides the gallery corridor from the multi-purpose office, guest and meeting room space. This glass "wedge" allows natural light to fill the entire space and is also a focal point and inspiration for the gallery's name. Sandblasted glass partitions, together with pocket sliding doors, help foster an open, light-filled, airy atmosphere while providing for the all-important options of separate spaces and multiple functions. Glass coolness is heated up by warm woods, with elm millwork and maple-stained hardwood floors. In the gallery corridor, works of art hang on a light cream-coloured wall offering the perfect backdrop -- a smooth, expansive sheet of white that stretches a full 16 feet. The space's relative narrowness 02 April 2014 Page 2 of 9 ProQuest
- 5. favors small-scale art, which is why The Wedge predominantly exhibits photographs; primarily those of up- and- coming Canadian photographers. SOURCES: Concrete: M.E.B. Millwork Flooring: Allbright Lighting: Stonco Glazing: All Team Glass TATAR ALEXANDER PHOTOGALLERY The 1,600-square-foot space originally presented the Toronto design firm Cecconi Simone Inc. with an impressive challenge: that of creating a stellar photogallery -- with viewing area, inventory storage facilities, client presentation area, reception area and private offices -- in an extremely competitive district and within the constraints of limited space and budget. Through a host of highly innovative solutions, Cecconi Simone met the challenge. The design team additionally won an Association of Registered Interior Designers of Ontario (ARIDO) gold award last fall for their efforts. The designers' use of gallery space is ground-breaking, employing innovative display and partitioning systems, created specifically for Tatar Alexander. The interchangeable, multi-level rail display system consists of a triple row of stainless steel rails and grommets, enabling photos to be placed directly on top and replaces the conventional hook and nail system. It markedly reduces exhibition mounting and dismounting time from the standard two days to a mere two hours. Another plus: this time-saving system enables the owners to rent the space for special events outside of gallery operating hours, even when a feature exhibit is occuring. Sliding wall panels represent another ingenious innovation that makes Tatar Alexander tick. The panels are placed one half foot in front of every wall in the gallery space, a tactic that creates a double set of walls. Instant presentation areas and hidden storage spaces are other benefits. The rail and grommet display system and the sliding wall panels work to increase the gallery's display space by 100 per cent, a huge boon to a 1,000-square-foot gallery. But not all design strategies are practical. Pale yellow walls and wood panelling infuse the space with warmth and help fulfill another objective: The designers wanted to create an intimate, friendly, "no whispers" environment. Wood is used in the wall panels and floating ceiling panels. A unique centre-wall display injects a sense of fun and whimsy. Currently painted chartreuse, it displays rows of artichokes. And there's another eyecatcher. A specially designed cabinet-encased computer, which contains the gallery's entire inventory, sits in the centre of the gallery floor. SOURCES General contractor: Scepter Industries Lighting: Cecconi Simone customized Sliding door hardware: Crowder Graphics: Boom Design Photography: Bob Burley/Design Archive THE FESTIVAL THEATRE The task of renovating a Canadian icon is not one that calls for radical change. This was certainly the case in the recent renovation of the Festival Theatre, in Stratford, Ont., by Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects (KPMB). "The Festival Theatre is an incredibly significant icon of excellence in Canadian theatre, one with a remarkable history," says KPMB partner-in-charge Tom Payne. "We had to defer to this." Thus, the renovation preserves the theatre's distinctive coronet-topped roof and auditorium. Front-of- house facilities do, however, reveal fairly dramatic revisions. For example, where before there was one large lobby, there is now a gift shop flanked by two smaller-sized lobbies. The space is complemented by floor-to- ceiling windows and stone-and-wood floors. Alterations to the auditorium enhance audience comfort and acoustic performance. The realignment of the walls on each side of the auditorium results in a smaller sweep and improved acoustics. There are also 380 fewer seats -- a reduction in seating from 2,200 to 1,820 -- and thus more leg room for patrons on the main floor. Translucent canopies of wood, steel and canvas mark the main entrances from the exterior. Payne says that a major project goal was to create a better "place of arrival" and "to project the theatrical experience into the space outside." Towards this end, KPMB added a horseshoe- shaped drive and extensively planted terraces. The drive is ringed by a series of arbor columns fashioned out of concrete and canvas stretched over light steel frames. Lit from within, the lights emulate lanterns that mark the way. SOURCES Project team: Thomas Payne, Victoria Gregory, Goran Milosevic, Mark Jaffar, Ian Izukawa, Bill Colaco Millwork: Millworks, Mirmil, Woodecor, CCI Woodwork Stone: Washroom vanity tops: Arriscraft Paving at exterior: Ledgerock Lobby &Retail: Ledgerock Doors: Wood: Cambridge Door (interior) Wood: Commercial Doors &Hardware Metal: Blair Joinery (exterior) Special plaster: Kurtz Mann Ceramic Tiles: Olympia Tile Linoleum: Flortech, Phoenix Floor &Wall Products Carpet: Coronet Carpets Curtain wall: Albion Glass Theatre Seating: Irwin Photography: Jeff Goldberg WALTER CARSEN CENTRE Imagine the dancer, imagine the 02 April 2014 Page 3 of 9 ProQuest
- 6. dance. Both images evoke pleasing paradoxes of lightness and sturdiness, grace and strength. Fittingly, these same qualities are now richly reinterpreted within the design of the new residence of the National Ballet of Canada, the Walter Carsen Centre. Opaque walls and sliding translucent panels, mesh screens and brush- hammered concrete columns are examples of design forms and materials reflecting the dancer's elegance and athleticism.. Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects (KPMB) is the Toronto firm that turned an empty concrete shell into a space that partner-in-charge Tom Payne describes as "simple, rich and expressive." Four storeys high and 95,000 square feet, the centre is located in the Arthur Erickson-designed King's Landing condominium project on Toronto's harborfront. The location offers rooms with a view: Lake Ontario to the south, Toronto's skyline to the north. The facility provides state-of-the-art rehearsal studios, offices, a library, archives and a reception hall. According to Payne, determining a way to respond to the space's original architecture -- which was totally undeveloped but imposed a frame -- was one of the project's greatest challenges. The double- height reception hall yields one creative response. Here two concrete piers were bush-hammered and now stand as columns with a rough, stone-like look. On the floor of the reception hall is a warm Italian limestone streaked with white. Overhead, a suspended bar of fixtures resembles a light boom. Other elements associated with performance are sheets of steel mesh that hang curtain-like beside a staircase and reception desk. The reception hall connects with an upstairs dancers' lounge and to four airy, two-storey studios. Here, the atmosphere is one of calmness and light, fostered by the inclusion of expansive windows and a colour palette of muted shades of grey and cream. Although normally a private space, there are times when the rehearsal area becomes a public place, Payne says. A sliding metal and lexan wall opens the area to the public on such occasions. SOURCES Millwork: Ontario Cabinet Makers Lighting: Staff Lighting Ltd. and Lightoiler Co. Italian Granite: Enmar Natural Stone Furniture: Herman Miller and Italinteriors Project team: Thomas Payne, Chris Couse, Todd Macyk, Matthew Wilson, Dmytriy Pereklita, Radek Gzowski, Bill Colaco, Karen Petrachenko, Anthony Provenzano Photography: Jeff Goldberg MUSEUM OF DECORATIVE ART The Montreal Museum of Decorative Arts is a recent addition to one of the ritziest neighborhoods in the city core. Located on Crescent Street below Sherbrooke, the facility boasts a design by Canadian born superstar architect, Frank Gehry, who only once before realized a project in this country. The museum's calling is to show that modern design is not just austere functionalism, that it encompasses items like a Niki de Saint-Phalle armchair shaped like a buxom woman, or Guido Drocco and Franco Mello's coatrack in the form of a cactus. The 18-year-old institution formerly displayed its extraordinary collection of furniture, ceramics, metalwork, jewellry, textiles and graphic design in the Chateau Dufresne, an historical site located far from downtown Montreal. In April, the MMDA re- located in premises which are linked, via a glass-enclosed atrium, to the new wing of the Museum of Fine Arts -- the architectural plans having been executed by the firm, Provencher Roy and Associates. When Gehry first saw the mundane street-level area, about 10, 000 square feet originally intended for chic boutiques, he disliked it. But inspired by the frisky shapes, scales and visual brilliance of the museum's collection, assembled under director Luc d'Iberville Moreau and curator Martin Eidelberg, the architect came up with intelligent solutions to dealing with a problematic space. Gehry's ideas reflect his characteristic tastes and preoccupations. Allergic to what he has called design "with a big D," and architecture "with a big A," Gehry is dead set against the over- wrought look of many museums. He believes that exhibition spaces should be unpretentious and viewer- friendly, rather than ponderous mausoleums. The minimalist spaces of the Montreal museum of Decorative Arts feature five playful arrangements of vertical and oblique "towers," which extend up to 16 feet and contain display cases. These installations reflect Gehry's love of simple materials; the towers are made of Douglas fir Marine plywood with glass panels, as are the horizontal display modules that sit on moveable platforms. The museum's warm-hued atmosphere is maintained by the end grain Douglas fir used on the galley floors. In contrast, the ceilings -- with their varying heights and exposed air ducts -- suit the architect's fascination with industrial forms and unfinished structures. Diverse light sources bounce around the asymmetrical thrust of Gehry's cityscape -- like towers -- and set off the exhibit in surprising ways. Overall, Gehry's design concept 02 April 2014 Page 4 of 9 ProQuest
- 7. gives the visitor a sense of extended depth, as well as intimacy. Two of the architect's own creations were displayed in the museum's inaugural exhibition, Design for Delight: Alternative Aspects of Twentieth Century Decorative Arts. A corrugated cardboard and wood chaise lounge called "Bubbles," and a "Steam-Bent Pillow Chair," made of maple, basswood and birch plywood, added Gehry's humorous touch to the exhibition's flights of fancy. The exhibition is presently kicking off an international tour at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull. By the time the travelling road show winds down in the spring of 2001, it will have stopped in six American and European cities, including Cincinnati, Rome and Paris. SOURCES Flooring: Ebenisterie Beaubois Ltee. Lighting: Les Installations Electriques Pichette Inc. Plate glass windows: Ebenisterie Beaubois Ltee. Ventilation and Air Conditioning: Ventilabec Inc. Signage at the entrance of the museum: Eben-Tech Inc. Photography: Giles Rivest THEATRE du NOUVEAU MONDE Of Montreal's numerous legitimate theatres, one of the most venerable is the Theatre du nouveau Monde. Since 1951, the TMN has made a point of performing both classical and contemporary work, highlighting local playwrights like Michel Tremblay. Stage legends Jean Gascon, JeanLouis Roux, and Olivier Reichenbach were the TMN's first three artistic directors. Since 1992, it's been run by acclaimed director Lorraine Pintal. Under Pintal, the TMN embarked on one of its most ambitious projects: a multi-million dollar renovation of its downtown Montreal site. The building, located at St. Catherine and St. Urbain, has a fascinating history. Constructed in 1912 by architects Ross and MacFarlane, the venue was originally a 2,000-seat vaudeville and burlesque house called the Gayety. In 1924, the New York-based Columbia Amusement Company mandated the celebrated movie palace designer, Emmanuel Briffa, to create one of the most luxurious theatres in America. Briffa responded with typically over-the-top Louis XIV decoration that included gold leaf, false bronze and real marble. After changing hands a number of times, the Gayety was shut down in 1953 because of performances by strip-tease artistes like Peaches and the legendary Lily Saint- Cyr. By the time the TMN's Jean-Louis Roux acquired the building in 1972, Briffa's Louis XIV fantasies had disappeared under layers of paint. In May, the theatre presented a brand new face to the public. Funded by about $13 million in private and government money, Lorraine Pintal's renovation scheme drew on the talents of scenographer Luc Plamondon of the firm Trizart, and Montreal architect Dan Hanganu. According to Plamondon, architects are involved in how theatrical spaces are arranged, but "it is the scenographer in collaboration with the artistic director and the technical crew that initially define them." Plamondon zeroed in on the building's vast spaces, thinking out everything that involved the structuring and equipment of the stage and the auditorium. For instance, the orchestra and balcony were enlarged, while the stage was torn down and rebuilt to make the playing area deeper, higher and more airy, while ensuring the special qualities of the original theatre's "acoustic shell." We cannot know in advance what creators will be imagining,:" Plamondon has said, "but we have the responsibility of doing everything we can to give them maximum freedom." As for architect Dan Hanganu, who designed the abbey at the renowned neo-Gothic monastery, Saint Beloit du Lac, the TMN's mission is to draw people into theatre going as an event that works on several levels. To accomplish this goal, Hanganu devised a series of discrete spaces that lead the spectator to "live out a collective experience of the theatre." From the canopied piazzeta at the entrance, theatre goers enter a lobby with a ticket booth at the centre and a cafe to one side. At the far end, the age-worn brick wall of the old Gayety is visible. In his design, Hanganu wanted to "preserve the different moments in the life of the theatre," as well as bring out traces of the past by utilizing elements of decoration that were found during the renovations." The stairwells, some of the original furniture, and the decorative motifs on the ground floor boxes have been preserved and reproduced. Believing that the theatrical experience is a blend of ritual and socializing, Hanganu intended the foyer to "recover its traditional function of an area where one lingers to see and to be seen." Here, spectators can hang out before taking their seats in an atmosphere determined by the use of simple, undistracting materials such as masonite and exposed concrete, and an overall, no-nonsense ambiance of black, grey and garnet. the focus in Hanganu's approach to the Theatre du nouveau Monde is the stage. SOURCES Curtained walls: Lessard Beaucage Lemieux Rugs and floor coverings: Roy et Fils Limitee Paint: Les Peintres gulticouleurs Inc. Seating: 02 April 2014 Page 5 of 9 ProQuest
- 8. Siege Ducharme International Inc. Photography: Brian Merrett WINSPEAR CENTRE When Cohos Evamy Partners, Edmonton, began to work on the design of the new Francis Winspear Centre for Music in Edmonton, the primary focus was sound quality. Working closely with acoustic and theatre design firm Artec Consultants, New York, they also wanted to create an intimate atmosphere where the audience would feel wrapped in the music being performed. By all reports, they have succeeded. The centre officially opened its doors Sept. 13 to rave reviews. Built around a 1,900-seat auditorium, the new building includes a three-level lobby, a rehearsal hall and back-of-the-house support facilities, including offices for the Edmonton Symphony and the Edmonton Concert Hall Foundation. Located in the heart of Edmonton's Art District, the building's dramatic exterior and glass tower add life to the downtown Sir Winston Churchill Square. Materials used on the exterior consist of a warm, taupe grey Tyndall stone, curtainwall glass, stucco and a multicoloured brick that picks up on other materials in the square. The tall glass lobby, at the edge of the square, opens out to address the square as well as leading into the building , offering access on three levels to the auditorium. Says Doug McConnell, chief architect and partner, "I enjoy the variety of the scale of spaces: as you move through the building you take a kind of spatial journey -- starting from outside, you enter into a tall space facing Winspear Centre, then into the intimate space of the lobby. When you face the staircase, you're into very solid anchor elements but as you rise up the stairs, you have a 'bay window' sense of drama. Then you cross through the intimacy of another lobby, and into the hall, under a balcony that gives you the feeling of the human scale of the single storey space. Then you step out into an extraordinarily tall handsome space ... there's a wonderful trip through that sequence." Leading from the entrance is a light and dark terrazzo floor that picks up on the colours in the stone. Colours used throughout the building are warm and muted, punched up by rich deep accent tones. The basic palette is soft with the warmth of stone colours coming through. It has accents of a deep rich purple and eggplant, and very deep reds and greens. There's a tectonic language in the way the pieces go together," says project architect Donna Clare. The doors of the performance chamber are marked by an unusual Venetian plaster finish with multiple layers of waxed and hand-rubbed pigments revealing deep rich burgundy. The chamber was designed so the audience would feel a sense of intimacy within a rectangular room, with an 85 foot tall ceiling. The room itself is very calming; it's very quiet," says Clare. When you walk into the room it feels as if it's embracing you. It's one of the wonderful things about a shoebox-shaped hall. The performance stage is wrapped by the audience. There is no separation between the stage and the audience so you feel like you're in one space." The floor at the orchestra level of the chamber is shiny black terrazzo with stained concrete on the upper levels. The rest of the room uses a sophisticated colour scheme of various warmths and strengths of green and red. The platform is maple. Rich beechwood is also used with solid mahogany detailing that is also carried through in the rest of the building. The walls aren't smooth; they look like rough stone walls but they're actually concrete," says Clare. Also repeated on the walls throughout the building are five horizontal lines in a staff of music. Dancing between these lines are leaves cast in concrete, taken from the river valley in Edmonton, representing the notes of several bars of Mahler's first symphony. The centre was named for business leader Dr. Francis G. Winspear, who spearheaded the project and donated $6 million to its construction. THE ACOUSTICS The Francis Winspear Centre for Music is really four separate buildings; the lobbies, the performance chamber, rehearsal hall and the administration/mechanical area, each just two inches apart to stop the transmission of noise from one area to the next. The performance chamber is a concrete box within a box to prevent the penetration of any street noise. Heavy airtight walls for the chamber, constructed layer upon layer, provide acoustic isolation. The heat, lighting and air conditioning systems are in two different buildings, separate from the performance chamber, and engineered to operate below the threshold of hearing. Materials used in the performance chamber are designed to achieve appropriate reverberance and clarity of sound. The acoustical design also allows for the adjustment of reverberance, permitting a wide variety of musical performances, from symphonic to jazz. The sound is dampened by curtains and banners, stored in the ceiling space, which drop to adjust to the different types of music being played. Walls, ledges and balconies 02 April 2014 Page 6 of 9 ProQuest
- 9. reflect the music -- this is macro shaping. The adjustable acoustics, hard surfaces like concrete balconies, concrete flooring, steel handrails and concrete walls, ensure that the music stays in the room. Micro-shaping is seen in the random rough texture of the walls. Over the stage is an acoustic canopy of 55 tons of oriented strandboard, that looks like a large chandelier with pinpoints of light. It carries fins which distribute sound to the orchestra and to the main seating area on the floor. A set of reflectors behind the platform also allows the players to hear themselves. SOURCES Carpet: Shaw/Crossley Chairs: Ducharme Seating International Inc. Chair fabric: Maharam Granite/Terrazzo: Metro Tile &Marble Concrete: Lafarge Canada Inc. Concrete stain: Scofield Concrete Coloring Systems Tyndall stone: Caillis Quarries Ltd. Tile: Olympia Tile Photography: Ellis Brothers Photography FORD CENTRE for the PERFORMANCE ARTS Having restored or built theatres in Toronto and Vancouver, Canada's larger than life theatrical producer/impresario Garth Drabinsky and his Livent Inc. turned south to Broadway. This time Orabinsky has topped even himself. The project involved removing most of two back-to-back old theatres between 42nd and 43rd Streets, near Times Square in New York, and replacing them with the 1,839-seat Ford Center for the Performing Arts. When the curtain rises on the U.S. premiere of Livent's hit musical Ragtime in December, it will be under the original, refurbished proscenium, but on a stage 20 per cent larger than either of the predecessor's. Blending a neoclassical 19th century look with 21st century stagecraft was an architectural and interior design tour de force produced by Kofman Engineering Limited, a Toronto development and project management firm. A few bare structural bones were left out of the decrepit 1903- era Lyric Theater and the dysfunctional Apollo Theater (circa 1925). The original facades and historic interior features worth preserving were repaired, restored and re-introduced within the new space. Livent, which is investing $22.5 million in the new theatre, will be the manager and operator for at least 40 years. The New 42nd Street, a New York City and state agency supervising US$4 billion worth of Times Square redevelopment, is the owner. Peter Kofman says the historic facades and plaster interior decorative elements were removed, catalogued, restored in Bayonne, NJ. by JeanFrancois Furieri and his Iconoplast Designs, Toronto, colleagues. They've worked on about 190 tons of the theatres' historic elements for nearly a year," he adds, "including a 35-foot wide ceiling dome which was removed in slices, like a pie, reconstructed in the shop and replaced." Beyer Blinder Belle Architects designed the theatre; Richard Morgan Studio Inc., (both of New York) handled the interior design and architectural lighting in the public spaces. The toughest thing was how put the two theatres together so that audiences will enjoy it as a wonderful space ... to find a way of distinguishing between the historic and the new without getting them bound up in a puzzling looking place," Morgan told Canadian Interiors. We've done that by adapting Richard Adam's (an 18th century Scottish architect) neoclassical style of the Apollo to the extension of new material beyond the preserved proscenium and dome, in a restrained way. We've also developed colours from original materials that are distinctly yet subtly different from colours applied to the new material. We wanted audiences to be able to tell what's new and what's old, and in a space that works," Morgan says. This is how it works: LOBBY The dome and other historic elements are re- installed in the double height lobby, with a mezzanine, eight columns and what Morgan describes as a "a graceful staircase that splits at the top and ties it all together." Morgan's firm also designed the hand-carved mosaic floor. WALLS The walls are done in a faux, neutral limestone design treatment, with thin mortar joints. Wall panels are also covered in a damask pattern, inspired by the original motif, with a large repeat, above the wainscotting on the side walls. ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING At the time the Lyric opened, Edison's electric light bulb was still new and glowed with a candle-like flame. "We have used the same types of lamps in beautiful brass fixtures and embedded them in decorative plaster elements, the tops of the columns in the lobby and in the dome." (A small Illinois firm manufactures the bulbs). CHANDELIERS "One of the signature aspects of the Lyric's auditorium was crystal chandeliers, which had tungsten filaments, and we have included those crystal chandeliers and wall sconces." STAIRS Stairs from the lobby up to the oval-shaped upper level are built of French limestone; the railings feature a custom-designed motif of the lyre from the Lyric facade, built in Toronto by Steptoe And Wife Antiques. SEATING "The chairs are covered in a burgundy-coloured velvet fabric, with 02 April 2014 Page 7 of 9 ProQuest
- 10. cast iron ends. We didn't have any examples of the Apollo's original seats, but we knew what they looked like." Morgan may not be the most objective observer of the emerging new theatre when he pronounces it as "the most beautiful theatre on Broadway," but given Drabinsky's reputation and track record for perfectly rendered detail and dazzling theatrical spaces, it is a credible comment. SOURCES Decorative painting: Evergreene Studios, New York City Marble mosaics: Gregory Muller Associates, New York City Seating: Irwin Seating, Grand Rapids, Mich. Lighting fixtures: Litemakers, New York City Carpet: Bloomsberg Carpets, New York City Plaster restoration: Iconoplast, Toronto Subject: Designs plans etc; Theatres & auditoriums; Museums; Art galleries & museums; Location: Montreal Quebec Canada, Stratford Ontario Canada, Edmonton Alberta Canada, Toronto Ontario Canada, United States Company: Theatre du nouveau monde (Montreal), Walter Carsen Centre for the National Ballet of Canada (Toronto), Tatar Alexander Photogallery (Toronto), Montreal Museum of Decorative Arts, Festival Theatre (Stratford), Winspear Centre for the Performing Arts (Edmonton), Wedge Gallery (Toronto), Ford Center for the Performing Arts (New York) Classification: 9172: Canada Publication title: Canadian Interiors Volume: 34 Issue: 5 Pages: 25-39 Number of pages: 0 Publication year: 1997 Publication date: Sep/Oct 1997 Year: 1997 Publisher: Business Information Group Place of publication: Toronto Country of publication: Canada Publication subject: Interior Design And Decoration ISSN: 00083887 Source type: Trade Journals Language of publication: English Document type: PERIODICAL Document feature: Illustrations ProQuest document ID: 210827167 Document URL: http://search.proquest.com.ezaccess.library.uitm.edu.my/docview/210827167?accountid=42518 Copyright: Copyright Crailer Communications Sep/Oct 1997 Last updated: 2011-08-09 02 April 2014 Page 8 of 9 ProQuest
- 11. Database: Arts & Humanities Full Text _______________________________________________________________ Contact ProQuest Copyright © 2014 ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. - Terms and Conditions 02 April 2014 Page 9 of 9 ProQuest