A building which houses the arts - here interpreted as performance space, museum, exhibition hall, gallery or loft - is itself an instrument that is played by the artist/performer. It is a shell, a sounding box that requires tuning to the specifics of a performance. A performance may be dance, music, display, exhibit or interpretative event. Dancers need to hear the music; musicians need to see their conductor and hear their music; artists have different preferences with regard to source of light, type, volume and language of the space; an exhibit or interpretative event involves an overlay of information - active and didactic - which is intended to engage, extend and move the viewer. In these ways, even as differences and similarities overlap, each of the arts and their needs for space are unique.
In an arts building, parts of the shell, like the sounding box of a violin or the canvas of the painting, are permanent. They include the exterior envelope, the structural frame, and components of the space program including lobby, stairs and hallways, restrooms or support areas. Other aspects are adjustable. They include the space the artist/performer occupies as well as the infrastructural systems. The circulation space of hallways, stairs and lobby should clearly and swiftly move the audience between lobby and performance hall while participating in and supporting the extension of the performance - the ability to see and be seen - by the audience before, during and after performances. Varying degrees of flexibility to accommodate different artist/performers are always required.
Likewise, it is a collaboration between the artist/performer and the architect which creates the thoughtful conclusion of the characteristics and type of space best suited to the artist/performer. Both the fixed and adjustable elements that support the dialogue between artist/performer and spectator are the very reason why we attend performances. This dialogue is generated by the collaboration between artist/performer and architect. We strive to extend that collaboration into discussions which result in the thoughtful integration of permanent and flexible components of space, using the systems themselves as the substance of the architecture. This, we believe, is a core ideal in all our arts buildings.
Select Arts Projects
Hidden City, Peregrine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Suzanne Roberts Theatre, Philadelphia Theater Company, Philadelphia, PA
Performance Pavilion, French Woods Festival of Performing Arts, Hancock, NY
F. Otto Haas Main Stage, Arden Theatre Company, Philadelphia, PA
J. Carter Walker Fine Arts Center, Woodberry Forest School,
Woodberry Forest, VA
Burlington County Historical Society, Corson Poley Center Exhibit,
Burlington City, NJ
Naked Molerat Exhibit, Philadelphia Zoological Society, Philadelphia, PA
Pavilion in the Trees with Martin Puryear, Philadelphia, PA
Rock Hall, Esther Boyer College of Music, Temple University, PA
Fingerspan with Jody Pinto, Philadelphia, PA
© 2007 KieranTimberlake
[ 420 N 20 Street, Philadelphia PA 19130.3828 | V 215 922 6600 F 215 922 4680 ]
