2021 Galleries
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Galleries // 2013 Spark:Space // Dallas City Performance Hall
Dallas City Performance Hall
Winner - Gold
Competition: Spark:Space
Designer: Mr. Jeffrey McCarthy, FAIA - Managing Partner
Design Type: Buildings
Company / Organization / School: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
Website: www.som.com
Team Members: City of Dallas, Dept. of Public Works - Client
Corgan Associates - Architect of Record
McCarthy Building Companies, Inc - Contractor
L. A. Fuess Partners, Inc. - Structural Engineer of Record
Aguirre Roden - MEP Engineer of Record
Schuler Shook - Theater Planning/Lighting Design
JaffeHolden - Acoustics, Audio/Video
Caye Cook & Associates - Landscape Architect
Naughton + Associates - Environmental Graphics & Wayfinding
Opened in September 2012 as the newest building in the Arts District, the Dallas City Performance Hall provides a worthy venue to accommodate local, non-professional performance groups. The Design Team conducted in-depth interviews with over 75 local arts groups ranging from orchestras and choirs to theater and dance groups. The responses were translated into the building’s plan and design, creating a flexible program to serve highly diverse users. Having been programmed and designed to accommodate future growth, the Performance Hall provides 59,000 square feet of space, housing a 750-seat audience chamber on two levels, a proscenium type stage with an 80 foot high fly tower, multilevel lobby, function space, backstage support, offices, and a central plant and loading dock. Despite the financial challenge of a 100% publicly funded budget, the building achieves an elegant simplicity through thoughtful planning and careful architectural detailing. The creative use of natural materials, including glass, poured-in-place concrete bearing walls supporting structural trusses, steel-and-wood railings, and wood and fabric acoustical devices, provides a modest, functional expression for the facility. Notable features include exposed concrete walls varied with a textured surface providing visual interest while aiding acoustical performance. An LED-curtain provides a bold, technologically innovative prelude to performances within the space—and can be programmed to meet varying needs. The project is expected to attain LEED® Silver certification at minimum through the energy efficient design of the concrete enclosure, minimal window openings, material selections, local product sourcing and the design of the mechanical and electrical systems.
