Kauffman Center For The Performing Arts
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The halls are served by a series of access verandas fronting on the terrific hall, forming two cone-shaped stacked rings of white plaster. Hence, the great hall with its surrounding terraces is a counterpoint to the theaters within; the theater of the public world, where the commemorating public are visible to the southern sweep of the city.
In counterpoint to the warm intimacy of Helzberg Hall, the Muriel Kauffman Theater is joyful and exuberant. The three verandas cover the hall in a horseshoe-like enclosure.
The opportunity to design a major brand-new carrying out arts center was precipitated by two significant decisions: the selection of an extraordinary site crowning the escarpment neglecting the historic storage facility district and the new entertainment district, affording a 180 ° view of the horizon; and the decision to build 2 devoted halls for symphony, ballet, opera, and theater.
Downtown Kansas City, set upon a plateau, extends southwards towards an escarpment from where it descends, opening to an expansive view, which is additional emphasized by the flat grassy field landscape. To the north, one sees the drama of the downtown skyline with its grid of streets framing the home and the Kansas City Convention.
The halls are served by a series of gain access to balconies fronting on the great hall, forming 2 cone-shaped stacked rings of white plaster. The thousands of individuals mingling before and after intermissions and performances are theatrically noticeable to one another. Hence, the great hall with its surrounding terraces is a counterpoint to the theaters within; the theater of the public world, where the commemorating public show up to the southern sweep of the city.
From the outset, we wanted a hall that made love and in which the general public is engaged with the musicians in a sensation of welcome. Rather than the standard frontal relationship of phase and audience, we surrounded the music makers with the general public. With the 1,600 seat count, which makes great intimacy possible, we make every effort to have each and every person experience the music without a terrace or ceiling above them.
We likewise wanted the spatial experience within the hall to stimulate the outside style of the structure. Hence, the fanning geometry of the northern facade is echoed within the interior, supporting the sculptural arrangement of the organ within it; as it reaches towards the ceiling it branches apart, forming skylights that allow the daylight and sun to reflect and permeate upon the organ.
In counterpoint to the warm intimacy of Helzberg Hall, the Muriel kauffman center Theater is joyful and exuberant. The 3 verandas cover the hall in a horseshoe-like enclosure.
The lights show through the glass-like enclosure to form an ever-changing chandelier-like surface area. The hall's acoustic enclosure is made up of undulating walls, shaped like vertical stacked barrels and designed by Toyota for optimum sound reflection. To integrate these shapes into the whole, a series of slats supply a screen-like enclosure. A series of murals, conceived and designed by the trainees of the Kansas City Art Institute, are painted and brightened directly on the acoustical structures. The general result is of a vibrant mural, abundant in reds, greens, blues and yellows, merged into the geometry of the space.
