Ember: Center for the Fine and Performing Arts

“Ember”, a center for the fine and performing arts, is an adaptive reuse project integrated with a historically significant site in the heart of Scranton, Pennsylvania: the Iron Furnaces. The Furnaces date back to the middle of the 19th century in the midst of America’s industrial revolution. The structure is massive and made entirely out of stone. It is comprised of four blast furnaces whose fires used to melt iron ore into usable material for railroads, skyscrapers, and ships. The site was vital to the industrial advancements of the United States as a country and added an illustrious and more nuanced dimension to the culture and heritage of Scranton as both a city and community.

“Ember” replaces the fires in The Furnaces’ hearths with an aerial dance performance that includes aerial silks, trapeze, and hoops.

The top deck serves as a gathering space where visitors can take part in different types of art-making in specially formalized studios.

Below: aesthetic and material concept collages