Support the Harman Theatre
A CONVERSATION WITH JACK DIAMOND, PRINCIPAL DIAMOND AND SCHMITT ARCHITECTS
INCOROPRATED ARCHITECTS FOR THE SIDNEY HARMAN HALL
(This conversation occurred in the offices of Diamond and Schmitt Architects
in November 2003)
 QUESTION: Your
firm's work is extremely diverse, covering a variety of building and programmatic
types: academic, healthcare, recreational, research, residential, municipal,
public and, of course, cultural. Does the firm have a singular ethos or unifying
approach?
JACK DIAMOND: If one aspect distinguishes our work it is our social
concern. We are very much engaged in social issues not only in our own city
of Toronto, but we are also extremely sensitive to the communities in which
our projects are located.
For example, we have been instrumental in a number of reform movements in
Toronto. We became very active early in the career of the office in the in-fill
movement, particularly in the efforts to recycle older buildings rather than
demolish them. Our offices are located in a section of the city that was once
an industrial wasteland. Through the city's efforts, areas such as ours began
to be colonized, with housing and public-use buildings.
We have both an ethical and a social interest in the role public buildings
play, and the interesting ways they engage a public and attract people to a
city's core. This is within a broader notion of intensification, tying density
to transportation, and increasing the mixed uses within existing city boundaries,
rather than expanding the urban area, to improve the quality of life. Cultural
projects are absolutely of paramount importance in the mix.
Projects such as the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's Max M. Fisher Music Center,
in the city's mid-town district, the Canadian Opera Company's new opera house
in downtown Toronto and, of course, The Shakespeare Theatre's new Sidney Harman
Hall in Washington's downtown arts and entertainment district, are projects
of ours that address the social, cultural and economic issues of urban development,
and how cultural facilities contribute to the public good.
Question: Your work in the cultural arena has primarily been in designing
traditional theatre spaces. Given today's social climate with the increased
presence of pop culture and mass media, what are elements to consider in designing
a theatre for today's audiences and their sensibilities?
JD: First of all, the fundamental relationship between performer and
audience is a dynamic that hasn't changed-both desire intimacy. Each wants
to feel embraced by the other to achieve close connection. The primary aim
is to achieve intimacy.
The objective in our theatre projects is in some sense a reversion to an earlier
time when the relationship between performer and audience was achieved without
electronic embellishment or magnification, unlike today's rock concerts in
huge arenas filled with enormous crowds. Granted, today's large gatherings
in arenas or public spaces are in essence historically like the Palio in Siena,
where the city square was animated by events that attract large crowds. But
today's presence of pop culture and mass media in some sense creates a deliberate
distortion, not necessarily negative, but a distortion nonetheless.
Audiences for theatre, dance, music and opera, especially in North America,
once again wish to also experience an intimate exchange that is pure, unembellished
and not artificially enhanced. Audiences desire authenticity and a human dimension
that isn't an exaggeration of scale, either visually by the size of a screen,
or audibly artificial by magnification.
So we're dealing, in a sense, with a return to a more direct connection and
human dimension. Therefore, our projects are engaged in a reestablishment of
a set of values that are enduring and timeless. This has remained constant
each time we are asked to design a performing arts space.
Question: How then does this relate to your work with The Shakespeare
Theatre and the development of the Sidney Harman Hall?
JD: After many discussions with Michael Kahn, it became evident that
we shared similar beliefs in the power of live theatre: in the ability to engage
with other living breathing human beings, producing immediate human responses
that aren't manufactured or the result of distortions, replications or special
effects.
So we asked ourselves, "What is the atmosphere and character of a space
that is conducive to the kind of experience that allows for such human interaction?" It
is partly about making a fine room that doesn't have a dominant identity, but
rather allows the artistic director's purpose or program to dictate its use.
I often think architects who don't know what to do, do everything. As a consequence,
such design often lacks coherence. There is too much going on. Forms, proportions
and shape then lose their power.
A coherent and simple chamber is deeply satisfying, and the performance style
isn't dictated by the architecture. The architecture should empower directors,
saying to them, "use your imagination, have fun and see what drama you
can create."
Question: Can you describe the almost chameleon-like characteristics
of the space and how these elements set the Sidney Harman Hall apart from other
flexible spaces?
JD: Let's start with the inside of the theatre. The interior walls
require a series of structural ribs but whose size and proportions to some
degree are subject to our own judgment. The ribs brace the double structure
used to isolate the theatre from external noise. The theatre is actually a
building within a building. These ribbings or pilasters are not decorative
but actually reinforce the walls.
Making virtues of necessities is the basis of design: the ribs, or pilasters
are also used to calibrate the room. The wood strip panels between function
acoustically, providing diffusion and, unseen, provide the variable that can
be adjusted for music, speech and drama.
Question: What do you mean by programmed?
JD: Each panel with its absorbent curtain or shade will have the ability
to be adjusted independently. By determining the various settings appropriate
for the spoken word, live music or recorded music, a set configuration for
each will be established. These settings become stored programs so a simple
push of a button will assume the required acoustic configuration.
Placing these adjustable curtains behind the wood screens will allow the various
position and adjustments to occur unnoticed by the audience. They are hidden
in order to maintain a consistent appearance but provide variable acoustics.
So the first key characteristic is creating both visual continuity and operational
flexibility.
The pilaster design was further developed to create a two level colonnade
that surrounds the performance area. This colonnade is demountable but is also
connected to balcony seating where actors can make entrances and exists. There
are removable floor panels where stairs can be inserted for access from one
level to another.
Question: What are the other characteristics?
JD: The second objective was to provide the ability to change the theatre
form itself. Michael Kahn wanted a capability of changing to a proscenium,
thrust or to an arena configuration.
The proscenium arch is designed much like a Venetian blind: it consists of
a series of panels that retract by winch. Once retracted, the unit can be moved
beneath the fly opening and then flown out of sight, leaving an open or bare "end" stage.
The first five rows of seats are on two wagons. It is therefore possible to
roll these two blocks of seats at right angles to either side of the stage,
thus creating a thrust stage, or rotating the seat wagons 180 degrees and positioning
them upstage, creating an arena configuration. The seats can also be stored,
creating a large and open-end stage. Simple stagecraft, used to determine the
various configurations, enables the stage crew to convert from one configuration
to another in a minimal amount of time. That is very different from the majority
of "flexible" spaces, whose design dictates far greater effort and
time for conversion from one theatre form to another.
To create an environment for a small ensemble or quartet, a series of moveable
freestanding acoustic screens are placed in a semi-circle in front of the proscenium,
creating a kind of cove or shell.
Finally, a small, but critical acoustical enhancement, has been designed to
address the problem of sound projection when the stage is in either arena or
thrust forms: the balcony fronts of the colonnade are on a hinge, capable of
being tipped forward 13 degrees. This eliminates the problem always encountered
by the audience members behind or to the side of actors. As the balcony fronts
are flipped forward they reflect the sound back, so the audience behind the
actor can hear.
Question: We have dealt with the design issues for theatre as well
as for music, but what about for dance?
JD: First, the stage level is about 30 inches above the lowest seat
location, allowing the audience to see the feet of the dancers. Second, the
side panels (between the colonnade columns) are removable portals that make
excellent entrances and exits for dancers. Finally in a hall designed to seat
800, the distance from the furthest seat in the balcony to the lip of the stage
in proscenium mode is just 77.5 feet, the same distance as in the existing
451-seat Lansburgh Theatre.
Questions: Let's discuss the exterior of the building. How were you
able to obtain visible street presences and identity for the theatre that,
in its original conception set forth by the developers of the office tower,
was a theatre "encased" within an 11-story office tower?
JD: The original plan was to place the theatre within an office building
with almost no street presence. The theatre was to have been contained entirely
within the office building. The entrance would have been via a passageway at
right angles to F Street. The office building entrance was to occupy the street
frontage. This arrangement presented difficulties for both the theatre (lack
of visibility) and for the office building (awkward elevator locations and
odd floor space distribution).
We therefore explored alternative plans. First, I realized that the depth
of the site was equal to the width. I suggested rotating the theatre to align
it perpendicular to F Street. In this way the theatre would have a prominent
street entrance on F Street, and the office tower would have its own dedicated
entrance from the pedestrian passage, creating a far superior entrance lobby,
elevator system and circulation pattern for the tower's tenants. After careful
consideration, the developer accepted the changes as beneficial to both the
office development and the theatre.
As Michael Kahn said when we reached this agreement, "We started out
with an office building that had a theatre. We now have a theatre with an office
building."
Question: Did the changes lead to other possibilities for creating
an identity for the project?
JD: Yes, it allowed us to utilize the street frontage for much greater
exposure for the full height of the theatre. By projecting the façade
over the sidewalk, we could create a great bay window above the first floor
that also had the advantage of thereby making a marquee under the bay.
The bay window acts like a screen or a theatrical scrim. The glass, projecting
beyond the surface of the building, hangs eight feet out over the sidewalk
like a huge screen. These transparent lobby levels animate the street and add
vibrancy to the surrounding district. The outline of the interior theatre box
is visible from this vantage point. With the transparent glass façade
continuing up the building's three levels, the volume of the theatre will be
visible from the street.
Having street frontage of course provides access to the box office and the
gift shop during normal business hours.
Question: Was there a specific reason for designing the theatre "box" to
make it appear as an isolated structure?
JD: The choice was driven by the acoustical integrity required within
the theatre. Once inside the building, there is a physical demarcation between
the lobby and the actual theatre space. Audience members will cross over a
series of suspended bridges to enter the performance space. This gap or barrier
surrounds the four walls of the theatre, completely isolating the room from
the remainder of the building. The actual performance space will float on large
rubber pads that absorb vibration and noise, protecting the acoustical integrity
of the performance environment. From the outside, the volume of the theatre,
usually as well as acoustically separated from its host building, can be "read" from
the street.
Question: You have addressed a variety of elements that deal with acoustics.
Are there additional elements in the design that address this area?
JD: Suspended over the front portion of the audience is a rectangular
catwalk. In addition to using this for theatrical lighting positions, it allows
us to suspend a series of reflecting panels, capable of being adjusted, throwing
the sound forward. The ability to adjust these panels will be key to "tuning" the
room for music ensembles, whose playing area will be directly under this device,
enhancing the sound quality when the stage is in either thrust or arena configuration.
Question: It seems that you have developed a series of layers that
the audience will encounter as they arrive from the street, continuing through
the lobby to enter the theatre and sit in their seats in the Sidney Harman
Hall. Was that intentional, and if so, why?
JD: Yes, it is indeed intentional. The intent is to provide the theatregoer
with a series of different, yet related experiences or encounters. Upon arrival,
the transparent and immediate accessibility of the public spaces allows the
individual to become an urban actor, interacting with the theatre audience
and its urban surroundings, creating a dialogue between the two.
The individual's experience changes as he or she crosses over the suspended
bridges from the orchestra and balcony lobby levels into the theatre. Next,
they enter the theatre and encounter a carefully crafted and intimately proportioned
room that has the ability to change its configuration from performance to performance.
Finally, as the lights dim and the performance starts, a new experience begins
with each theatre reconfiguration.
Question: We have covered a lot of territory. Is there anything we
might have left out?
JD: This project wasn't about building an iconic image for the city
of Washington, but about creatively addressing the complex issues of the site,
and the programmatic needs set forth by Michael Khan and The Shakespeare Theatre.
I believe there was one unifying element that drove the design process and
I believe it had to do with something Michael said during our early discussions.
To paraphrase, he wanted an adaptable space that would allow classical theatre
and classical literature to remain relevant in the 21st Century.
More information about Jack Diamond
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