DESIGN PROFILES

DESIGN PROFILE

ARTYARD CENTER

Edward Robinson Architecture & William Welch Architecture

ArtYard is an interdisciplinary alternative contemporary art center comprised of an exhibition space, theater, and residency program, dedicated to presenting transformative artwork, fostering unexpected collaborations, and incubating original new work. Opened in 2021, ArtYard Center honors Frenchtown’s industrial past and the organization’s mission to bring provocative art, performance, and creative mischief to a small town at the Delaware River’s edge.

At its core is a state-of-the-art theater, wrapped in a gallery, and the building’s layered entrance creates a secondary outdoor stage that overlooks the Delaware River and a generous architectural “yard.”

The sturdy exterior shell responds to the forces of the river and reflects the scale, craft, and forms of the early industrial buildings that were once on this site and throughout the Delaware Valley. The interior is distinctly modern, defined by threshold moments, exposed structural materials, isolated steel walls, embedded artifacts, and large open spaces for art.

The architectural journey from the entrance, past the ticket booth, and up grand stairs visually reconnects one to the town and takes visitors through the galleries and past the brass bar into the theater lobby and vestibule.

Finally, the impressive view of the theater space opens from above to reveal a dramatic auditorium below. Stadium seating allows for clear views to the edge of the stage, which is optimized for dance and theatre. A full catwalk system, 39-line sets with pinrail spotlines allows the theater to take on a variety of shows and performances. A reclaimed plastic bottle chandelier by the artist Willie Cole is suspended from the ceiling. The winding aisle path to one’s chair heightens the anticipation of the act to come.

PHOTO: STUART WATSON

PHOTO: STUART WATSON

PHOTO: STUART WATSON

PROJECT: ArtYard Center

LOCATION: 13 Front Street, Frenchtown, NJ

CLIENT: ArtYard

PROJECT SIZE: 20,981 sq ft

PROJECT TEAM:

Edward Robinson Architecture & William Welch Architecture (Architects) Bob Hsu, Architect (Project Advisor) NV5 (Civil Engineer) Larsen and Landis (Structural Engineer) Pyrus Horticultural (Landscape Architect) Aaron Jia (MEP Urban Technologies) BEAM (Lighting Consultant ) Chris Langhart (Technical Director) John Chester (Acoustic and Projection Consultant) RWDI (Acoustics) Goddard Design Co. (Theatrical Lighting Control) Doherty Construction and Rigging (Rigging Consultant) R&D LLC (Seating Consultant) Rich Bittner (Dance Floor Consultant) Sinclair Inc. (Audio, Video, and Projection) W.S. Cumby Construction (General Contractor)

DESIGN PROFILE

RENDERINGS: ATKIN OLSHIN SCHADE ARCHITECTS

ALLENTOWN ARTS PARK PAVILION

Atkin Olshin Schade Architects

The Allentown Arts Park project is envisioned as a revitalized and reimagined use of a current passive green space to celebrate the City’s artistic heritage in downtown Allentown, Pennsylvania. Bordered by the Allentown Museum of Art, Miller Symphony Hall, and the Baum School of Art, the green space also acts as a starting point to the City’s Arts Walk by highlighting a corridor of artistic history and culture. This project provides a lively Park renovation and proposes a new structure to the existing Arts Park which adds to its ethos of celebrating arts and culture by activating the green area into a performing arts space.

The proposed Arts Park improvements include extensive new landscaping and a new pavilion which serves as a band shell and support space to host local and regional music and theater events and performances. The Arts Park space is meant to be responsive to the seasons and provides accommodations for various Park events from ticketed concerts to free public performances and informal gatherings.

The overall design of the curvilinear band shell itself is derived from the contextual urban fabric of Allentown; drawing inspiration from sheet music scores in response to the Symphony’s proximity, to a piece of drapery reminiscent of the large textile collection at the nearby Allentown Art Museum and the region’s silk mill history. The use of laminated wood to achieve this form has been selected both for its flexibility and its efforts to support sustainability as a renewable green product. The curvilinear form arcs over the stage providing shelter and shade and then curves back in plan enclosing a performance “Green Room” and ancillary support facilities. A suspended flexible truss structure over the stage allows customized audio equipment and lighting to be set up for each performance.

RENDERINGS: ATKIN OLSHIN SCHADE ARCHITECTS

RENDERINGS: ATKIN OLSHIN SCHADE ARCHITECTS

PROJECT: Allentown Arts Park Pavilion

LOCATION: Allentown, Pennsylvania

CLIENT: City Center Allentown

PROJECT SIZE: 2,500 sf

PROJECT TEAM:

Atkin Olshin Schade Architects (Architect) Jon Morrison, PE (Consultant Structural Engineer) Acentech (AV/Acoustic Consultants) Omnes Studio (Landscape Architect) North Star Construction Management (General Contractor)

DESIGN PROFILE

MALTZ CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

MGA Partners

MGA Partners was chosen to design and oversee the completion of the first phase, shaping a Concert Hall within the existing Sanctuary and creating a Recital Hall. The venue is the largest gathering space on campus and can be used for a variety of ensembles and festivals, while still serving as a place of worship.

The most prominent design insertion, a 66,000-pound glass and metal canopy allow adjustable acoustic and lighting support for varying performance ensembles. This carefully conceived, custom fabrication provides continuous views through to the original vaulted dome, while perfecting the necessary sound engineering.

Richly appointed with period detail and decorative finishes—fitting for one of the most prominent and historic Reform congregations in the US—the project required a significant preservation component to uncover the beauty of many historic details, including the stained-glass clerestory, the Guastavino tiled vaulted dome, marble corridors as well as the limestone facade.

Technical challenges of inserting a concert hall stage into a room that would also be used for worship were accomplished by modifying the attributes to the room to serve new purposes. Stained glass windows became operable lighting and projection positions, the operable concert hall stage can be lowered in sections reducing the stage from concert size, to ensemble, to bima for worship services, pews are refit with theatre seating and augmented with custom designed removable chairs and the Akoustolith dome was restored and coated in an indiscernible patchwork pattern to increase the acoustic reflectivity.

Immediately recognized for the visionary preservation of this great hall, the initial project spurred additional achievements for the university and greater Cleveland community, including the addition of two theater spaces. Concert and theater venues are mainstays on campuses—rare are the university complexes that unite an extraordinary architectural landmark with state-of-the-art sound projection and technical capabilities.

PHOTOS: HALKIN MASON PHOTOGRAPHY

PHOTOS: HALKIN MASON PHOTOGRAPHY

PHOTOS: HALKIN MASON PHOTOGRAPHY

PHOTOS: HALKIN MASON PHOTOGRAPHY

PROJECT: Maltz Center for the Performing Arts

LOCATION: Cleveland, Ohio

CLIENT: Case Western Reserve University

PROJECT SIZE: 45,000 sq ft

PROJECT TEAM:

MGA Partners (Architect) Westlake Reed Leskosky (Associate Architect) Barber & Hoffman, Inc. (Structural Engineer, local) CVM (Structural Engineer) Karpinski Engineering (Systems, Civil Engineer) Akustiks, LLC (Acoustic Consulting) Theatre Projects (Theatre Consulting) The Lighting Practice (Lighting Design) Behnke Associates (Landscape Design) Blundall Associates, Inc. (Cost Estimating) Shen Milsom Wilke (Audio/Visual Consulting) Turner Construction Company (General Contractor)

DESIGN PROFILE

181 MERCER

KieranTimberlake

As an urban campus, New York University is in great need of increased space to strengthen its academic culture. In response to requests across many departments, 181 Mercer was conceived as a multi-use building of 750,000 square feet at a prominent site on Houston Street. NYU prioritized specialized spaces for its renowned performing arts programs, as well as spaces for academic instruction, athletics, student life, and student and faculty housing. Working in collaboration with Davis Brody Bond, KieranTimberlake designed a building that accommodates these diverse needs, embodying the character and vibrancy of NYU and offering new ways to engage with the city. The building is intended to build community through its varied and eclectic uses, organizing them into neighborhoods that connect to an expansive Commons offering a place of meeting, gathering, and study. 181 Mercer takes advantage of its 360-degree relationship with the city by placing circulation along a transparent perimeter and program spaces toward the center. This reversal of conventional building organization allows daylight and views to be shared by all, providing natural wayfinding, and revealing NYU’s vibrancy and activity to the outside.

The Performing Arts program includes a 350-seat fully equipped proscenium theater shared by the entire NYU community for larger-scale performances; two flexible theaters of 150 seats each, the End Stage and Warehouse, as well as eight acting studios, for the Tisch School of the Arts Department of Drama; and a range of ensemble and individual music practice spaces for the Steinhardt School’s Music and Performing Arts programs. The complex volumetric and technical needs of these spaces were accommodated through an iterative, participatory design process with priority given to spatial character and quality, acoustics, sight lines, production capability, front of house amenities, and back of house operations.

SECTION NORTH/SOUTH PROJECT: 181 Mercer

LOCATION: New York, New York

CLIENT: New York University

PROJECT SIZE: 750,000 sf

PROJECT TEAM:

KieranTimberlake (Architect) Davis Brody Bond, LLP (Architect of Record ) Langan (Civil Engineering) Severud Associates- Consulting Engineers PC (Structural Engineering) Bard, Rao + Athanas Consulting Engineers, PC (MEP/FP Engineering) Fisher Dachs Associates (Theatre Planning & Design) JaffeHolden (Theatre Acoustic Design) Cerami & Associates (Building Acoustic Design) Tillotson Design Associates (Lighting Design) Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc (Landscape Design) Atelier Ten (Environmental Design) Davella Studios (Culinary Design) Heintges Consulting Engineers P.C. (Curtain Wall Consultant) Sasaki (Athletics Design) Van Deusen & Associates (Elevator Consultant) Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. (Roofing Consultant) Spacesmith (FF&E)