January 31, 2022 Dallas Theater Center (DTC) is pleased to announce that it is leading an inclusive process to create a Master Plan for the future of the Kalita Humphreys Theater Campus. This city-wide effort involves the active participation of community members, working together with Dallas Theater Center, the City of Dallas, and an esteemed team of renowned architects, led by Diller Scofidio + Renfro. The completed Master Plan will be delivered to the City of Dallas by the end of 2022. The goals of the Master Plan are to: • Restore the Frank Lloyd Wright building to its period of significance (1959), while maintaining it as a working theater that is accessible for audiences and supports 21st century theatrical practice; • Increase green space; • Open the site to the Katy Trail and Dean Park; • Expand accessibility and connectivity to the surrounding communities; • Activate the site for public use throughout the day; • Create new, small theater spaces for DTC and the local arts community; and • Provide amenities for audiences and visitors Anyone interested in learning more about the project is invited to email Kevin Moriarty, Dallas Theater Center Enloe/Rose Artistic Director at: kevin.moriarty@dallasstheatercenter.org On February 25, 2020, Dallas Theater Center announced that distinguished New York interdisciplinary design studio Diller Scofidio + Renfro – whose work includes the redesign of the Lincoln Center for Performing Arts Campus and the Museum of Modern Art, as well as the design of the High Line – will renovate Dallas’ famed Kalita Humphreys Theater, originally designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The building has been home to DTC since its opening in 1959, and the renovation efforts aim to preserve the theater’s distinct architecture while equipping it to inspire a new generation. In keeping with Wright’s organic, nature-inspired vision, DS+R - with DTC - also will create a master plan that will connect the Katy Trail, Dean Park and the surrounding neighborhoods of Uptown, Turtle Creek and Oak Lawn to the Kalita Humphreys Campus, making the entire site an accessible public space for all. The Kalita Humphreys Theater is unique among Wright’s distinguished body of work as the only free-standing theater he designed that was built during his lifetime. Its most notable internal feature is a revolving stage which exemplifies Wright’s Organic Theory of architecture, which stressed the unification of the building’s form and function, the harmony of the building’s 1
structure with its natural setting, and the aesthetically pleasing manipulation of space. Like all of Wright’s projects, the theater’s design was considered bold and innovative for its time. Wright also stressed integration with nature, and the theater was built into a limestone bluff overlooking Turtle Creek. On March 4, 2020, Dallas Theater Center and Diller Scofidio + Renfro welcomed a large group of community members to a public meeting at the Kalita Humphreys Theater to update the community about their progress in creating the Master Plan. Input was solicited from those in attendance, including an opportunity for open remarks and written comments. The large turnout, and the immense enthusiasm surrounding the announcement of the lead architects, was inspiring. A few weeks later, COVID-19 forced DTC to pause work on the project during the shutdowns caused by the pandemic. With the unanimous support of the Dallas City Council, DTC announced that it would restart work on the Master Plan in January, 2022, with a delivery of the plan to the City by the end of the year. Because The City does not have financial resources to contribute to the creation of the Master Plan, The City asked DTC to fund and make the Master Plan. With the support of the community, DTC is committed to raising the remaining funds needed to support the $2 million cost of the Master Plan. Dallas Theater Center welcomes any donations to help fund this exceptional, inclusive planning process. Dallas Theater Center is working with a dedicated Steering Committee who bring a wide variety of experiences and expertise to the project. In addition to selecting DS+R as the architects, the Committee is providing valuable advice to DTC throughout the creation of the Master Plan. The Committee is identifying community members with specific expertise to meet with DTC, the architects and other members of the team about a variety of topics, including historic preservation, the needs of the local theater community and neighborhood residents, connectivity, accessibility, racial equity and diversity. The Steering Committee members are listed on Exhibit A. Charles Renfro is leading the design of the project in collaboration with his partners at Diller Scofidio + Renfro. This is a deeply personal project for Renfro, who was raised in Baytown, Texas, and traces his love of architecture to the state’s modernist icons. After graduating from Rice University in Houston and Columbia University in New York, he practiced at a number of firms before joining Diller + Scofidio in 1997 and becoming a partner in 2004. He has since worked on a number of projects significant to New York, including the redesign of the MoMA, the Lincoln Center for Performing Arts and the High Line. He has run multiple projects in California, including The Broad, a contemporary art museum in Los Angeles, and academic facilities for University of California at Berkeley and Stanford University. Renfro has maintained his connection to Texas, presenting new ideas for urban regeneration to the Houston Park Board. His experience as well as Diller Scofidio + Renfro’s history of creating aesthetically appealing and accessible public buildings and public spaces made Renfro and the 2
firm a natural choice for this high-profile project. DTC has worked with Diller Scofidio + Renfro to identify a wide variety of consultants with specialized expertise to contribute to this project who are listed on Exhibit A. In the spring and fall of 2022, DTC will hold additional public meetings at the Kalita to share updates on the planning process and solicit input from the community. To receive updates about the public meetings and the progress of the plan, follow DTC on social media and/or sign up on DTC ‘s website: dallastheatercenter.org Dallas Theater Center thanks the City of Dallas, our many partners, and our entire community for their ongoing engagement and support. ___________________________________________________________ “The renovations to the Kalita Humphreys Theater will prepare it to host productions by Dallas Theater Center and other theater companies for generations to come, while honoring the beauty and innovation of Frank Lloyd Wright’s original design. In addition, the creation of two smaller theaters will allow DTC and other local companies to perform regularly on the site, in harmony with the goals of the new Dallas Cultural Plan. We will work with Dallas’ Office of Arts and Culture and the theater community to make this incredible asset available to more theater companies and audiences.” – Jennifer Altabef, Chair, Dallas Theater Center Board “Dallas Theater Center has been proud to call the Kalita Humphreys Theater our home since it opened in 1959. As we look to the future, we are thrilled to partner with the architects at Diller Scofidio + Renfro as well as the city of Dallas and the entire community to restore the Kalita to its original glory, and expand opportunities for theater artists, students and audiences. By creating new spaces and opening up the site, the master plan will boost the natural beauty of the theater’s surroundings and improve its ability to serve as a welcoming, accessible space for all.” – Kevin Moriarty, Enloe/Rose Artistic Director, Dallas Theater Center “As a native Texan, I am particularly excited to contribute to our state’s architectural heritage and partner with Dallas Theater Center, whose bold productions are equally matched by their bold commitment to architectural innovation. This project is an opportunity to restore the Kalita Humphreys – one of Dallas’s most overlooked pieces of architecture – to its rightful place in the pantheon of design masterpieces in the city. Not only is it Frank Lloyd Wright’s only built theater, but it has also made significant contributions to the way theater has been presented and seen. Since it was built, the theater’s bucolic setting between Turtle Creek and the Katy Trail has been overwhelmed by parking lots and roadways. Our approach will seek to slow the site down and add new architecturally significant programs grown out of the surrounding urban green. The Kalita Humphreys complex will be an idyllic and iconic refuge surrounded by nature, merely footsteps away from the bustling city.” – Charles Renfro, Diller Scofidio + Renfro 3
Exhibit A The Steering Committee members are: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Jennifer Altabef, Board Chair, Dallas Theater Center Kevin Moriarty, Enloe/Rose Artistic Director, Dallas Theater Center Zaida Basora, Executive Director, AIA Dallas Guinea Bennett-Price, Co-Artistic Director/Co-Founder, Soul Rep Theatre Harrison L. Blair, President, Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce; District 4, Dallas Parks & Recreation Board Calvert Collins-Bratton, Dallas Park and Recreation Board (District 13 and former President); Vice President, Methodist Health System Foundation Carol Glendenning, Member, Clark Hill PLC; Turtle Creek Resident Rob Little, Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP; Friends of the Katy Trail Ryan O’Connor, Assistant Director, Partnership & Strategic Init., City of Dallas Parks & Recreation Marshall Payne, Founding Partner and Chairman of the Board, CIC Partners Jeff Rane, Artistic Producer, Uptown Players Katie Robbins, President & CEO, Hoblitzelle Foundation Hilda Rodriguez, AIA, NCARB, ASID; Former President, Oak Lawn Committee; Principal, HILDARODRIGUEZ Architecture/Planning/Interiors LLC Julia M Ryan, AICP, Director (Interim) City of Dallas Planning and Urban Design Jennifer Scripps, Director, Office of Cultural Affairs, City of Dallas Katherine Seale, Architectural Historian; Chair, Landmark Commission; former Executive Director, Preservation Dallas Andy Smith, Director, Giving and Volunteering; Executive Director, TI Foundation, Texas Instruments Trent Williams, Senior Program Manager, City of Dallas Park & Recreation Willis Winters, FAIA, Director Emeritus, Dallas Park and Recreation Department
The consultants on this project are: • • • • • • • • • •
Hillwood Urban as Owner’s Representative Duncan Fulton as Owners’ Advisor BOKA Powell as Local Architect Reed Hilderbrand as Landscape Architect Fisher Dachs Associates as Theater Consultant Harboe Architects as Historical Consultant Pacheco Koch as Civil Consultant Brandt as MEP Consultant Thornton Tomasetti as Structural Consultant Threshold Acoustics as Acoustical Consultant
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