Dallas Center for the Performing Arts

[infinite_jim]

Here are some more construction pics from the architect's website for the Wyly Theater.

[dfwcre8tive]

http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2009/07/dallas_center_for_the_performi.php

New Center for Music, Theatre, Dance and Opera Opens with Weeklong Celebration October 12-18, 2009

DALLAS (July 6, 2009) - The much-anticipated Grand Opening of the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts is just 100 days away. The most significant new performing arts complex to be built since New York City¹s Lincoln Center, the $354-million Center opens with a weeklong celebration from October 12 through 18, 2009 to launch its Inaugural Season. Daily outdoor performances, concerts and public art installations will be free and open to the public throughout the week, as will architectural forums with Center architects Norman Foster and Rem Koolhaas. Other highlights include events throughout the Dallas Arts District in recognition of its cultural completion.

...

The Grand Opening celebrations will begin on the morning of Monday, October 12, 2009, with a civic dedication. Held in the Elaine D. and Charles A. Sammons Park, the 10-acre public park that unifies the venues of the Center, the civic dedication will launch the week of celebratory events. This event will be free and open to the public.

Following the civic dedication and each day throughout the Grand Opening week will be a series of outdoor performances and performance art. Mass Ensemble, a multi-media performance group, will install a large-scale interactive instrument known as the Earth Harp on site, stretching strings from the ground to the roofline of the Center¹s neighbor to the east, the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Mass Ensemble will perform on the instrument throughout the week and the public will be invited to participate and play. Grand Opening week will also feature light shows by Luma and gravity-defying acrobatic performances by Anti-Gravity.

Other highlights of Grand Opening week are two architectural forums presented by the world-renowned architects who designed the venues of the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts and in association with the Dallas Architectural Forum and the Nasher Sculpture Center. Pritzker Prize-winning architect Rem Koolhaas, one of the designers of the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre, will discuss the future of theatre design on the afternoon of Thursday, October 15 in the innovative Wyly Theatre. On Friday morning, October 16, Norman Foster, also winner of the Pritzker Prize for Architecture, will present his designs for the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House and Annette Strauss Artist Square. Both of the architectural forums will be free and open to the public.

On Friday evening, October 16, the entire community will be invited to Sammons Park for a free concert by renowned GRAMMY® Award-winning saxophonist David Sanborn. The Grand Opening week will be capped off with the Grand Finale on Sunday, October 18, when the public will have the opportunity to tour the Winspear Opera House and Wyly Theatre, as well as experience a sampling of performances in each venue and in the Park with artists such as Latin GRAMMY® Award-winning flutist Nestor Torres.

Other Celebratory Dallas Arts District Events

In recognition of the cultural completion of the Dallas Arts District, special visual and performing arts events will take place throughout 68-acre district celebrating the opening of the Center. The Nasher Sculpture Center will feature The Art of Architecture: Foster + Partners with a nod to one of the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts' primary architects. The Dallas Museum of Art will present Performance/Art, an exhibition showcasing the work of cntemporary artists who have taken inspiration from the theater and opera in the creation of their painting, sculpture, video, and photography. The exhibition includes work by David Altmejd and Yinka Shonibare, among others, as well as Guillermo Kuitca, whom the Center has also commissioned to design the curtain for the Winspear Opera House. The Crow Collection of Asian Art will host Tibetan lamas, who, painting with sand, will create a mandala in the museum. The Dallas Center for Architecture will present a retrospective of the creation of the Dallas Arts District and the new Center. The Dallas Arts District, in association with the Center for Architecture, will also host walking tours of the District.

On Sunday, October 18, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra will present a free afternoon concert, featuring Beethoven¹s Symphony No. 9, conducted by Music Director Jaap van Zweden. Additional soon-to-be-announced activities will also take place at the Booker T. Washington High School for Performing and Visual Arts, the prized arts magnet high school located in the heart of the Arts District.

...

[Houston19514]

http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2009/07/dallas_center_for_the_performi.php

New Center for Music, Theatre, Dance and Opera Opens with Weeklong Celebration October 12-18, 2009

DALLAS (July 6, 2009) - The much-anticipated Grand Opening of the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts is just 100 days away. The most significant new performing arts complex to be built since New York City¹s Lincoln Center, the $354-million Center opens with a weeklong celebration from October 12 through 18, 2009 to launch its Inaugural Season. Daily outdoor performances, concerts and public art installations will be free and open to the public throughout the week, as will architectural forums with Center architects Norman Foster and Rem Koolhaas. Other highlights include events throughout the Dallas Arts District in recognition of its cultural completion.

...

The Grand Opening celebrations will begin on the morning of Monday, October 12, 2009, with a civic dedication. Held in the Elaine D. and Charles A. Sammons Park, the 10-acre public park that unifies the venues of the Center, the civic dedication will launch the week of celebratory events. This event will be free and open to the public.

Following the civic dedication and each day throughout the Grand Opening week will be a series of outdoor performances and performance art. Mass Ensemble, a multi-media performance group, will install a large-scale interactive instrument known as the Earth Harp on site, stretching strings from the ground to the roofline of the Center¹s neighbor to the east, the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Mass Ensemble will perform on the instrument throughout the week and the public will be invited to participate and play. Grand Opening week will also feature light shows by Luma and gravity-defying acrobatic performances by Anti-Gravity.

Other highlights of Grand Opening week are two architectural forums presented by the world-renowned architects who designed the venues of the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts and in association with the Dallas Architectural Forum and the Nasher Sculpture Center. Pritzker Prize-winning architect Rem Koolhaas, one of the designers of the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre, will discuss the future of theatre design on the afternoon of Thursday, October 15 in the innovative Wyly Theatre. On Friday morning, October 16, Norman Foster, also winner of the Pritzker Prize for Architecture, will present his designs for the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House and Annette Strauss Artist Square. Both of the architectural forums will be free and open to the public.

On Friday evening, October 16, the entire community will be invited to Sammons Park for a free concert by renowned GRAMMY® Award-winning saxophonist David Sanborn. The Grand Opening week will be capped off with the Grand Finale on Sunday, October 18, when the public will have the opportunity to tour the Winspear Opera House and Wyly Theatre, as well as experience a sampling of performances in each venue and in the Park with artists such as Latin GRAMMY® Award-winning flutist Nestor Torres.

Other Celebratory Dallas Arts District Events

In recognition of the cultural completion of the Dallas Arts District, special visual and performing arts events will take place throughout 68-acre district celebrating the opening of the Center. The Nasher Sculpture Center will feature The Art of Architecture: Foster + Partners with a nod to one of the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts' primary architects. The Dallas Museum of Art will present Performance/Art, an exhibition showcasing the work of cntemporary artists who have taken inspiration from the theater and opera in the creation of their painting, sculpture, video, and photography. The exhibition includes work by David Altmejd and Yinka Shonibare, among others, as well as Guillermo Kuitca, whom the Center has also commissioned to design the curtain for the Winspear Opera House. The Crow Collection of Asian Art will host Tibetan lamas, who, painting with sand, will create a mandala in the museum. The Dallas Center for Architecture will present a retrospective of the creation of the Dallas Arts District and the new Center. The Dallas Arts District, in association with the Center for Architecture, will also host walking tours of the District.

On Sunday, October 18, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra will present a free afternoon concert, featuring Beethoven¹s Symphony No. 9, conducted by Music Director Jaap van Zweden. Additional soon-to-be-announced activities will also take place at the Booker T. Washington High School for Performing and Visual Arts, the prized arts magnet high school located in the heart of the Arts District.

...

No one does hyperbole like Dallas.

[dfwcre8tive]

Here are recent photos of the Wyly Theatre:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=131168&id=109727801144#/album.php?aid=131168&id=109727801144

[dfwcre8tive]

This is going to be an incredibly busy and exciting week for Dallas! The opening of the Center for the Performing Arts will finally open Flora Street from One Arts Plaza all the way to the Dallas Museum of Art. Just a few blocks away, Main Street Garden Park will be opening and the 4 new restaurants surrounding the park should also be up and running. All of the State Fair of Texas activities will be going on, with the TX-OU game on October 17th. Fair Park will also reveal the esplanade and historic entrance renovation/reconstruction. The DART Green line opens a few weeks before, so visitors will be able to ride DART from Fair Park through Deep Ellum to downtown and Victory.

[TxDave]

Promotional hyperbole or not, these facilities will elevate the Arts potential in Dallas.

True success will be based upon how citizens and arts organizations embrace the facilities to present their creations alongside the professional/national companies.

The World Class facilities provide a great start, but the community needs to be behind and involved with it all.

[dfwcre8tive]

Some new photos of all the construction wrapping up:

[dfwcre8tive]

The Dallas Center for Performing Arts is now to be called the AT&T Performing Arts Center:

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/091509dnentcenter.42c5c73.html

"AT&T, which relocated its corporate headquarters from San Antonio to Dallas last year, promises to offer free Wi-Fi throughout the 10-acre Elaine D. and Charles A. Sammons Park and the Annette Strauss Artist Square, as well as the center's three main venues – the Winspear Opera House, Wyly Theatre and City Performance Hall.

But, Nerenhausen said with a laugh, "patrons will still need to turn off their cellphones during performances."

Sarah Andreani, a spokeswoman for AT&T, said Monday that the technology will also include "mobile-messaging platforms" to keep patrons informed through text messaging and other ways "about things happening with the center," such as updates on upcoming performances."

...

[totheskies]

Aww no fair... it's that DALLAS PAC!! AT&T didn't build it... they don't need no cred.

[lookinoveratya]

I don't live in Houston or Dallas, but I wanna like this place... the AT&T thing. But the D has some serious image issues if it cares more for the world's response than it does to the actual institutions being built, which is what it sounds like in this morning's DMN.

DMN article on AT&T Center

This article DMN is double "eeew" in my opinion. I'm embarrassed for the whole city if image is what motivated the building of these venues. And calling the whole arts complex the "AT&T" center? Considering they house the arts, not a hockey team, wouldn't a nice plaque be sufficient? But good for them if it makes 'em feel better about themselves. I look forward to attending some events there.

[totheskies]

Yeah, the article is pretty dumb, but that still doesn't diminish the long-term importance of the this Arts District. It's a bold move for Dallas, and a great addition to the cultural life of all Texans. It'll serve to help grow the arts for our region, and that's never a bad thing. I've already got tickets for Don Pasquale in February, so see you then!!

[dfwcre8tive]

I think the increased exposure of Dallas and response to the Center is one effect of the project, but not the motivation. The arts groups have dreamed of this for several decades, and the $335+ million in PRIVATE donations raised is quite impressive and shows the commitment of Dallas citizens to the arts. Next week's opening will be a milestone for Dallas and something to brag about for a while. I'm looking forward to my season tickets at both the opera and the theater!

The curtain of the Winspear looks interesting:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/04/arts/design/04spea.html

[dfwcre8tive]

The Winspear chandelier:

http://www.kera.org/artandseek/content/2009/10/09/shooting-stars-at-the-winspear-opera-house/

The Winspear curtain:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/04/arts/design/04spea.html

[dfwcre8tive]

AT&T Performing Arts Center was dedicated today!

Winspear Opera House: Sleek venue welcomes patrons with sonic, visual intimacy

02:16 PM CDT on Sunday, October 11, 2009

By SCOTT CANTRELL / The Dallas Morning News

scantrell@dallasnews.com

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/ent/stories/DN-apacWinspear_1011gd.ART.State.Edition1.4bc18e2.html

The Winspear is a huge presence, spreading a finned sunscreen far beyond its functional footprint. The ruby-red inner drum, rising through the lobby and projecting above, is the Arts District's sole splash of color – and one of far too few anywhere near downtown.

But the Winspear, in effect a sleek modern interpretation of a Greek temple with portico, is also by far the most welcoming building in the Arts District.

That sheltering canopy, 60 feet above placid lawns punctuated with patches of native grasses and wide walkways, draws us in. So does the expanse of ground-to-roof glass wrapping a lobby crisscrossed with free-floating staircases that spin out multiple terraces. Glowing night and day, the red-glass core exudes excitement and mystery.

"Very much at the heart of what we're trying to do," says Spencer de Grey, an opera fan who headed Foster + Partners' design team for the Winspear, "is making the building not one that you have to pluck up your courage and enter, but very transparent."

That part of the design looks like an unqualified success, although visitors will ever wonder why the canopy fins vary so much in density. (Their main purpose is to shade the building from the blazing Dallas sun; they're sparer on the fringes.)

And bully for de Grey's insistence that even patrons parking in the underground garage enter the opera house through the same front doors as people walking in off the street. The elevators and escalator from the garage open into a glass-roofed porte-cochère leading into the lobby.

Apart from that ruby-red drum, rotated off the entrance axis, everything in the lobby is silver or gray. But stand just about anywhere on the ground floor and look up, and you'll see a lively counterpoint of grids and fan shapes. If the building draws you in from outside, on the inside it seems to draw all of Dallas inside, too. Views in all directions are exhilarating.

On the east side of the lobby will be a cafe, with three sections of glass wall that can be raised for an 84-foot opening to the outdoors. Above will be a sit-down restaurant, with smart flying-saucer lights hung overhead. A compact lecture-and-performance hall opens to the lobby and the outdoors.

...

As yet unseen are the stage curtain, decorated with colored squiggles by Argentine artist Guillermo Kuitca, and the chandelier, an inverted cone of 320 lighted acrylic tubes that can retract into pinpricks of light.

How the Winspear meets its ultimate acoustical tests won't be known until this week's first performances, and, really, until the Dallas Opera mounts its season-opening Otello, starting Oct. 23. But reports from an initial tryout rehearsal are glowing.

Wyly Theatre: Top to bottom, a vertical display of industrial rawness

02:24 PM CDT on Sunday, October 11, 2009

By DAVID DILLON / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/ent/dcpa/stories/DN-apacWyly_1011gd.ART.State.Edition1.4bc2ac5.html

The Wyly packs a lot of architectural punch into a small space. At nine stories – roughly 130 feet – it looks much taller than it is. That's because a little height goes a long way in the horizontal Arts District and because its silvery aluminum skin flows upward to a line of skyscrapers in the background, borrowing height from its neighbors.

Knowing that the Wyly could be upstaged by the Meyerson Symphony Center and the Winspear, architects Rem Koolhaas and Joshua Prince-Ramus chose to go up rather than out, stacking lobby, stage, costume shop and offices on top of one another like hat boxes. Koolhaas has been playing the vertical city game since the publication of Delirious New York in the 1970s, and here was his chance to try it in the Wild West.

It is an unconventional plan, intriguing and high-risk, and right now it's impossible to know whether to grade it an "A" or an "F." The Wyly has been designed as a machine for performance that will challenge directors and probably confound some patrons with its industrial rawness and tight interior spaces, especially the single narrow staircase connecting lobby to main stage and a set of small, pokey elevators.

The moment you walk down the dust pan ramp from Flora Street to the lobby –one of the strangest theater entrances ever – you feel you've entered an engine room. No sofas and swag and warm soothing colors; only concrete floors and walls, sleek aluminum canopies and bare fluorescent tubes hanging from the ceiling like Luke Skywalker light sabers. This is tough, take-that architecture, uneven in its craftsmanship – the perfect joint has never been Koolhaas' grail – yet executed with admirable consistency from bottom to top. It's not just another trendy decorator touch, but a total aesthetic.

The main stage, seating 600, is directly above and packed with winches, pulleys, cables and catwalks. Seats can be flown up to the ceiling at the touch of a button; the stage floor can be configured from flat, proscenium or thrust in a few hours.

...

[dfwcre8tive]

AT&T Performing Arts Center's Wyly Theatre and Winspear Opera House impress crowds at free downtown Dallas fest

12:18 AM CDT on Monday, October 19, 2009

By JOY TIPPING / The Dallas Morning News

jtipping@dallasnews.com

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/101909dnmetartsopenhouse.3f73e36.html

Scott Whittall practically vibrated with excitement as he strolled down Flora Street during the AT&T Performing Arts Center's "Sunday Spotlight" event, which topped a weeklong celebration of opening festivities for the center.

"They've created this amazing walk through the center of the arts," said Whittall, 45, of Dallas. Gesturing around at the crowds, he compared the vibrancy to that of New York City. "This is such a huge day for Dallas," he said. "We're so metropolitan now – with the opening of this center, Dallas has landed."

Thousands of visitors attended the daylong festival, which included tours of the new Wyly Theatre and Winspear Opera House, free admission at Arts District museums, hands-on art activities, and more than 50 free performances of dance, music, acrobatics and more.

Maria May, public relations director for the AT&T Performing Arts Center, estimated that the crowd numbered at least 25,000, based on the number of programs and other materials that volunteers handed out. But since not everyone got a program, that number is probably low, she said.

...

[Sunstar]

That's a pretty slick looking design. I recently got to see Koolhaas' Seattle Public Library, and was fairly impressed with that as well.

Has anyone read Delirious New York or any of his more recent writings? I'm curious if it's worth the effort.

[names]

SMLXL is required reading for any serious student of architecture.

[wernicke]

I moved up to the metroplex a few months ago... honestly, I think these Dallasites are patting themselves on the back about this "AT&T PAC" a little more than what is warranted.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/columnists/chall/stories/102009dnbushall.3ce5470.html

A few notable architectural pieces in the arts district (the Winspear and the Wyly are quite cool) and all the sudden they are comparing Dallas to NYC and Chicago? Huh? I mean good for Dallas, but they do realize no one really lives downtown and the arts center isn't walkable from any residential/retail zone? Comparisons the NYC and Chi-town almost diminish the developments, b/c Dallas is never going to match those cities' urban vitality or architectural beauty.

[Subdude]

I know, but the building itself I think is fantastic.

[LegacyTree]

How can you directly correlate pedestrian activity and land use proximity to a world class arts center? It is a destination, and your barometer for architectural beauty and urban vitality seems to be rooted in an 19th century romanticism. Beaux-Arts is not exactly a design paradigm for Dallas IMO.

A few notable architectural pieces in the arts district (the Winspear and the Wyly are quite cool) and all the sudden they are comparing Dallas to NYC and Chicago? Huh? I mean good for Dallas, but they do realize no one really lives downtown and the arts center isn't walkable from any residential/retail zone? Comparisons the NYC and Chi-town almost diminish the developments, b/c Dallas is never going to match those cities' urban vitality or architectural beauty.

I smell envy.

[N Judah]

I moved up to the metroplex a few months ago... honestly, I think these Dallasites are patting themselves on the back about this "AT&T PAC" a little more than what is warranted.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/columnists/chall/stories/102009dnbushall.3ce5470.html

A few notable architectural pieces in the arts district (the Winspear and the Wyly are quite cool) and all the sudden they are comparing Dallas to NYC and Chicago? Huh? I mean good for Dallas, but they do realize no one really lives downtown and the arts center isn't walkable from any residential/retail zone? Comparisons the NYC and Chi-town almost diminish the developments, b/c Dallas is never going to match those cities' urban vitality or architectural beauty.

And at the end of the day (and at the end of that article) it all comes back to attracting corporate tenants. So much for "moving past commercial reasons for existence." Some cities never learn. Even so, I do think Houston has a better chance than Dallas of attracting the Boeings of the world.

[wernicke]

How can you directly correlate pedestrian activity and land use proximity to a world class arts center? It is a destination, and your barometer for architectural beauty and urban vitality seems to be rooted in an 19th century romanticism. Beaux-Arts is not exactly a design paradigm for Dallas IMO.

I smell envy.

Huh? I said I live in the Metroplex, so the Arts Center technically belongs to me as a citizen of Dallas... not sure how I could be envious. And if you've ever been to Chicago or NYC you would surely agree that Dallas does not compare to either city in terms of scale, architecture, or urbanity.

I understand Dallas is a suburban city, so why are they comparing themselves to urban cities? Just be happy being a sprawling, car-centric metroplex with a nice arts center...

[dfwcre8tive]

Photos by Ninjatune:

(BTW)

[totheskies]

Well first things first... I'm in love with the new Winspear, and have already bought tickets to Don Pasquale in February. What a beautiful Opera House!!!

Secondly, not loving what I've seen of the Wyly theater... it looks like something that Houston would build. It's gray, big/box, angular-ness is the antithesis of Winspear (which makes it even weirder to have them so close together). Hopefully when I experience the facility, I'll feel differently.

D-CPA isn't going to "enliven downtown"... it's too far away from the rest of downtown for that to happen. It's also not going to help Victory much. It's in a retail dead zone, and it will be a couple more years before anyone lives in the area. At best, it's going to create another "zone of activity" for the downtown area, but it won't cause people to actually move back and live there. The missing people of the puzzle in Dallas is still figuring out how to connect Downtown and Victory Park. Once that's done, the area will be able to revitalize.

[dfwcre8tive]

Well first things first... I'm in love with the new Winspear, and have already bought tickets to Don Pasquale in February. What a beautiful Opera House!!!

Secondly, not loving what I've seen of the Wyly theater... it looks like something that Houston would build. It's gray, big/box, angular-ness is the antithesis of Winspear (which makes it even weirder to have them so close together). Hopefully when I experience the facility, I'll feel differently.

D-CPA isn't going to "enliven downtown"... it's too far away from the rest of downtown for that to happen. It's also not going to help Victory much. It's in a retail dead zone, and it will be a couple more years before anyone lives in the area. At best, it's going to create another "zone of activity" for the downtown area, but it won't cause people to actually move back and live there. The missing people of the puzzle in Dallas is still figuring out how to connect Downtown and Victory Park. Once that's done, the area will be able to revitalize.

Actually, people have been living in the Arts District for a few years now since the opening of One Arts Plaza (60 condos). The residents just had a hard time walking to everything since Flora was a construction zone until last week. An additional 228 apartments will be open next summer (Link) and other condos have just opened across Woodall Rodgers (Link). With the opening of the AT&T Performing Arts Center (or ATT PAC; formerly Dallas Center for the Performing Arts) Flora is now a full "avenue of the arts" with good pedestrian infrastructure connecting residences, offices and venues. There are 14 dining establishments in the district, but as more of the remaining lots are developed it will be important to include street level dining and retail that serves the neighborhood well.

Of course this is going to influence development and visits to downtown Dallas! The Arts District is only a few blocks away from the downtown transit mall and the extension of the MATA streetcar to St Paul Station next summer (and future modern streetcar) will help strengthen that connection (Link). The construction of The Park, which has already begun, will connect Uptown and Downtown in the Arts District (Link). The Arts District has launched a new website jointly marketing all of the neighborhood's veunues and activities (Link). While none of these things will single-handedly revitalize downtown, as a whole they make the downtown area a much more desirable, livable place.

Victory long ago chose to isolate themselves from the rest of downtown, and you can see the result of that thinking. With the Green Line now open there is daily rail service to the district, but until more density and a less-exclusive mentality is introduced it will be an area only utilized for sporting events.

[wernicke]

Pretty spot-on critique of the project

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a018f4d6-bf63-11de-a696-00144feab49a.html?nclick_check=1

The Arts District is the cultural version of that city. Here star projects sit in self-satisfied isolation, unrelated to each other, unconcerned. Valet parking attendants ensure that patrons arrive and depart without being contaminated by any sense of urban life. The two new buildings try, and broadly fail, to address the problems. Yet they are far from failures in themselves.

...

Both the new Dallas buildings function well; they do what was asked of them and provide genuinely world-class facilities by star architects. The problem lies more with the conception of the Arts District. Within minutes of the end of each inaugural performance, the only public animation of the surrounding spaces was a mass of shivering patrons waiting for their cars to be returned. And then nothing. It was all over.

If these buildings are supposed to be part of an effort to “regenerate” or “reconnect” the city centre, they have failed. Dallas is indeed special because it is so generic. Both buildings reflect on this. Koolhaas’s is critical and consequently compelling, Foster’s is didactic in its attempts to Europeanise the cultural quarter through an architectural style that is itself massively influenced by US corporate modernism.

[dfwcre8tive]

Pretty spot-on critique of the project

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a018f4d6-bf63-11de-a696-00144feab49a.html?nclick_check=1

The Arts District is the cultural version of that city. Here star projects sit in self-satisfied isolation, unrelated to each other, unconcerned. Valet parking attendants ensure that patrons arrive and depart without being contaminated by any sense of urban life. The two new buildings try, and broadly fail, to address the problems. Yet they are far from failures in themselves.

...

Both the new Dallas buildings function well; they do what was asked of them and provide genuinely world-class facilities by star architects. The problem lies more with the conception of the Arts District. Within minutes of the end of each inaugural performance, the only public animation of the surrounding spaces was a mass of shivering patrons waiting for their cars to be returned. And then nothing. It was all over.

If these buildings are supposed to be part of an effort to “regenerate” or “reconnect” the city centre, they have failed. Dallas is indeed special because it is so generic. Both buildings reflect on this. Koolhaas’s is critical and consequently compelling, Foster’s is didactic in its attempts to Europeanise the cultural quarter through an architectural style that is itself massively influenced by US corporate modernism.

Have you spent much time in the new AT&T PAC? I've been there the past 2 nights for performances and there is a lot of activity going on. Last night, for example, there were simultaneous performances at the Meyerson, Winspear and Wyly and a lot of the patrons were hanging out at One Arts Plaza before and after the shows. Until some of the gaps are filled in with additional development there activity will still be spotty, but it has definitely increased.

[names]

http://www.ted.com/talks/joshua_prince_ramus_building_a_theater_that_remakes_itself.html