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
