comment
Concert Hall in Limoges
Irvine Valley College Performing Arts Center
Jackson Hole Center for the Arts Performing Arts Pavilion
Peoria Center for the Performing Arts
The Manon Caine Russell and Kathryn Caine Wanlass Performance Hall
Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall and Samueli Theater
Sidney Harman Hall - Harman Center for the Arts
Studzinski Recital Hall and Kanbar Auditorium
Tempe Center for the Arts
'62 Center for Theatre and Dance
Young Centre for the Performing Arts Studzinski Recital Hall and Kanbar Auditorium
A McKim Meade and White-designed swimming pool becomes an intimate recital hall.
Studzinski Recital Hall at Bowdoin College transforms an historic McKim, Mead, and White swimming pool into a new 287-seat recital hall. William Rawn Associates, the architects, carved a large acoustic volume out of the existing structure, and into that volume placed a more intimate, oval-shaped “vessel for music.” The curved geometry provides a contrast with the shoebox shape of the existing building (a contrast which is acoustically ideal) and introduces a vocabulary of taut, minimalist surfaces and warm, natural materials.
Based on what you have seen and read about this project, how would you grade it? Use the stars below to indicate your assessment, five stars being the highest rating.
Two parallel arcs defined by sheer planes of brass mesh and wood paneling embrace the audience and performer in a singular, intimate space. These forms organize audience seating along the sides of the room, surrounding the stage and uniting audience and performer in a “community of music.”
One unique element of the recital hall is the freestanding pylon. These tall pylons, clad in brass mesh, visually contain the space yet allow sound to pass through to the massive bass-supportive brick exterior walls, maintaining the acoustical “bigness” of the hall. Each pylon contains a hidden inner space that conceals an adjustable acoustical curtain that can be raised or lowered to “tune” the hall for different music programs.
While the project involves a radical renovation of the interior, a “light touch” approach was taken toward the restoration of the building’s exterior. The transformation brings new life to this long-dormant campus landmark, and preserves the college’s extraordinary collection of McKim, Mead, and White buildings.Formal name of building: Studzinski Recital Hall and Kanbar Auditorium
Location: Brunswick, ME
Completion Date: May 2007
Gross square footage: 20,060 g.s.f.
Total project cost: $15 Million Project Cost
Owner: Bowdoin College
Barry Mills, President
Catherine Longley, Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration and Treasurer
Donald Borkowski, Director of Capital Projects
Gregory Hogan, Senior Capital Projects Manager
Architect:
William Rawn Associates, Architects, Inc.
10 Post Office Square, Suite 1010
Boston, MA 02109
Tel. 617.423.3470
Fax 617.451.9205
Web: www.rawnarch.com/
|
|
Video
Sign in to Comment
To write a comment about this story, please sign in. If this is your first time commenting on this site, you will be required to fill out a brief registration form. Your public username will be the beginning of the email address that you enter into the form (everything before the @ symbol). Other than that, none of the information that you enter will be publically displayed.