In the halcyon years before the harrowing arrival of the current recession, new performing arts centers seemed to be rivaling museums as the architectural building type du jour. Now that spurt of activity may dwindle as cultural and academic institutions scramble to shore up their budgets. But in this moment of enforced reflection, we can at least examine some of the fruits of architecture’s golden decade up to 2009 to see how they perform urbanistically, architecturally, and acoustically.

All three buildings in this portfolio — a theater, an opera house, and a concert hall — demand different acoustical solutions for mostly unamplified sound, within unconventional architectural envelopes. Because of these complexities, each story includes a supplemental acoustical analysis that together comprise a Continuing Education feature. To earn one AIA learning unit, including one hour of health, safety, and welfare (HSW) credit, read the following project stories and their tech sidebars, “Performing Arts Centers and Acoustics,” and then click here to take the test.

	Dallas Arts District By David Dillon Does an impressive collection of buildings add up to a truly urban neighborhood for the arts? Photo © Iwan Baan
	Winspear Opera House Foster + Partners Opera Reaches Out: Using a Modern vocabulary, Foster + Partners reinterprets the traditional music hall to create the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House. Photo © Timothy Hursley When size matters: A hall reproduces old-world sound in a larger modern setting To earn one AIA learning unit, including one hour of health, safety, and welfare (HSW) credit, read each of this month’s project stories and acoustics-focused sidebars and then take the accompanying test.
	Wyly Theatre REX/OMA Vertical Theatrics: The mechanistic tower of REX/OMA’s Wyly Theatre enhances the flexibility of the performance along with connection to the world outside. Photo © Timothy Hursley Dramatically reconfigurable: A machinelike hall depends on inventive structural and acoustical solutions To earn one AIA learning unit, including one hour of health, safety, and welfare (HSW) credit, read each of this month’s project stories and acoustics-focused sidebars and then take the accompanying test.
	Copenhagen Concert Hall Ateliers Jean Nouvel Ateliers Jean Nouvel devises an ethereal container for the Copenhagen Concert Hall. Photo © Roland Halbe Model behavior: A not-so-miniature version of the real thing helps tune a design To earn one AIA learning unit, including one hour of health, safety, and welfare (HSW) credit, read each of this month’s project stories and acoustics-focused sidebars and then take the accompanying test.