Regional Perfoming Arts Center Presents "Philadelphia's Next Landmark"
Spectacular design will anchor the Avenue of the Arts
April 16, 1998
Rafael Viñoly’s extraordinary design for a world-class performance complex that will be built at the southwest corner of Broad and Spruce Streets on the city’s Avenue of the Arts, was presented to the public today by officials of the Regional Performing Arts Center (RPAC).
"I’ve been involved in lots of projects in lots of places, but as far as I’m concerned this is one of the most important," said Willard G. Rouse III, Chairman of the RPAC board. "It will mean so much to the Greater Philadelphia Region and its ability to grow and prosper over the next century. It’s incredible." "We expect that this building--from one of the world’s greatest architects--will become part of the very fabric of our region, an architectural icon for the 21st century," said RPAC President Stephanie Naidoff. In assembling the design team--architect Viñoly, acoustician Russell Johnson, and theatre designer Richard Pilbrow--Rouse and the other members of the RPAC board sought the best talent in the world to help meet the following goals:
- to build the best concert hall in the world for the Philadelphia Orchestra;
- to create a unique new type of adaptable theatre for recital music, dance, drama, and other events; and
- to give the city of Philadelphia a stunning new cultural commons, an unprecedented kind of public space for both citizens and visitors.
The extraordinary space that Viñoly has designed for the Concert Hall is acoustically inspired and tailored to the unique demands and personality of the Philadelphia Orchestra. "Instead of thinking about this space from an architectural perspective," said Viñoly, "it occurred to me that what we needed to do was think about it as what it really is: another instrument."
"I used to play the cello, and as I was looking at the interior, I saw that the interior space of the instrument was pretty much the same as a concert hall," he said. "So that is what we’ve created: an enormous cello."
The lines of the space flow, as in the box of a cello. The same types of woods that make the best string instruments in the world will be used to create a warm, rich environment in the Concert Hall. Like a cello, the Concert Hall will have apertures at the top. These openings in the ceiling can be adjusted to allow light to penetrate.
The 2,500-seat room is surrounded by reverberation chambers--massive, room-sized spaces designed to adjust the acoustic behavior of the hall for different repertoire or artistic preferences. "Along with the reverberation chambers, computerized, vertically-moving canopies will also provide a wide range of acoustic adjustability for an optimum concert experience," said Russell Johnson of Artec Consultants, Inc.
The Recital Theatre: A Precision Tool
Based on the classic performance halls found in Europe since the 16th Century, the 650-seat Recital Theatre brings audience and performers together in a very intimate--and flexible--space. A "courtyard" style theatre, it provides a simple high rectangular space with orchestra level seating and two surrounding balconies.
Principal elements of this design include:
- a large turntable that revolves to reveal an acoustic shell that surrounds the concert platform on one side and an unimpeded 40-foot deep stage on the other, allowing for fast changeover with minimal staffing;
- a central area where seating can be reconfigured into a cabaret-style or removed, in a rectangular space of limited width and considerable height, surrounded by two levels of audience galleries;
- a stage with wingspace and flytower;
- an orchestra seating elevator that lowers all orchestra seating to storage in the basement level, allowing the room to be reconfigured for arena staging, thrust stage, or flat floor cabaret-style layout.
"The Recital Theatre is essentially a precision tool, a mechanism that enables people to be in one space that actually functions as several," added Viñoly.
Two exceptional spaces, one remarkable place
Uniting these two very different spaces, which Viñoly describes as "two precious objects: the cello and the turntable," is a classical vaulted space that extends over not only the performance spaces, but also above an ample public plaza. The Center’s distinctive profile will soar to 150 feet above Broad Street, a monument to the role that the arts play in creating a vibrant, world-class city.
"This semi-transparent folded membrane, in the form of an arch, is made of a very light trellis structure that protects the interior components from the elements and creates a natural environment where people gather to see and be seen," said Viñoly.
"The idea about the character of this public space came from two sources," said Viñoly. "First, the recurrent presence of the arch in Philadelphia’s architecture--just look at Broad Street with the vaulted windows on the Academy of Music, City Hall, the Land Title Building, and the Bellevue, as well as the domes on the Mellon Building and the Drake. There is also a notion that this image has historically informed the idea of the arts complex for many centuries. Second, we wanted to transform the traditional lobby into a vibrant civic space.
"The building is, therefore, a sort of big beacon, where artists and public participate in the same spatial experience," said Viñoly.
The bottom floor of the public space is articulated in a series of progressive steps that reach the level of the main entrance to the Concert Hall. Platforms along the perimeter provide spaces for restaurants, patron facilities, and other functions, again covered by vaulted ceilings that modulate the space to a more intimate scale. Balconies along these platforms offer views that enrich the sense of excitement and participation. The roof of the Recital Theatre will be home to a spectacular tree-lined indoor terrace garden overlooking the city. "The new Regional Performing Arts Center will be an icon in the skyline of the city, a place of celebration of the arts and their role in the construction of a better society," said Viñoly.
Project momentum
Mayor Edward G. Rendell, an enthusiastic champion and tireless advocate of the project, noted that seeing the performing arts center move closer to reality has been one of the high points of his terms in office. "The presence of this magnificent building--as well as the extraordinary performing arts groups that will call it home--enhances the Avenue of the Arts as a cultural magnet and sets the stage for Philadelphia to focus on arts and culture as a central feature of our region in the 21st century," said Rendell.
"Now that we have the design for this marvelous building in hand, we are also able to determine a more realistic assessment of the cost of the project," said Rouse. "The estimated total cost will be $245 million."
"Landmark-status buildings cost money, but when you see what we will be leaving to future generations, I think you’ll agree that it will be worth every penny," he added.
"I’m happy to announce that $166 million has been pledged and that additional government contributions and foundation grants that are under consideration are expected to close this gap considerably," noted Rendell.
Rendell added, "We are especially grateful to the leaders of the Philadelphia Orchestra who had the foresight to begin planning this performance complex, which will put Philadelphia in its rightful place among the cultural capitals of the world."
The Philadelphia Orchestra will be the primary resident of the larger of the two performance spaces in the complex--the 2,500-seat orchestra hall. Four of the other proposed resident companies--Concerto Soloists, Philadanco, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and American Theater Arts for Youth--will share the 650-seat recital theater. The Pennsylvania Ballet and the Opera Company of Philadelphia are slated to share the historic Academy of Music, which is also part of the RPAC complex and which will also host the national tours of popular Broadway shows.
The RPAC is destined to become a cultural crossroads in the heart of Philadelphia, featuring the region’s rich artistic talent and the most treasured performers from around the world. The Center will present programming that complements the offerings of the proposed resident companies, including such opportunities as young concert artists series, chamber jazz series, cabaret and experimental performances, one person shows, performances for young people, and dance presentations.
Groundbreaking is scheduled for November 1998, with a grand opening slated for 2001.
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