In each issue of Building Design+Construction, we feature the latest new construction and renovation projects in a section called, On the Drawing Board. Here, we have assembled eight of the most notable cultural facility projects currently in the works. They include a soaring opera center in Hong Kong, a multi-tower music center in Calgary, and a massive expansion to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville. Check them out below.
1. NATIONAL MUSIC CENTRE UNITES ELEMENTS OF CANADIAN MUSIC
Allied Works Architecture is designing the National Music Centre, a project on the site of the historic King Edward Hotel and music venue in Calgary. The 160,000-sf museum, performance space, and teaching facility will combine new construction plus adaptive reuse of the “King Eddy,” ultimately comprising nine towers connected by pathways that bridge a major street. The old hotel will be completely refurbished, and will house a radio station, recording studios, classrooms, and performance and exhibition spaces. A new five-story building across the street will include museum and performance space. Also on the Building Team: Kasian (associate architect), Haley Sharpe Design (exhibition design), Fisher Dachs Associates (theater design), and CANA (CM).
2. DESIGN PARTNERSHIP TO CONDUCT PLANS FOR HONG KONG OPERA CENTER
Bing Thom Architects and Ronald Lu & Partners Company Ltd. have been chosen to design the Xiqu Centre, in Hong Kong. The opera center, scheduled to open in 2016, will be the first of 17 core arts and cultural venues to open in the West Kowloon Cultural District. The facility will include two auditoriums, with 1,100 and 400 seats, and a 280-seat teahouse, as well as training and educational facilities for the creation and development of Chinese and Cantonese opera works.
3. FORT LAUDERDALE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER TO GET UPGRADE
A joint venture between Stiles and Miller Construction Co. is renovating and expanding the 20-year-old Broward Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The 18-month upgrade is phased and planned to keep the center’s schedule of performances running smoothly while new amenities, a two-story waterfront pavilion, and terraced dining areas are added. A three-story arts education wing that will face Avenue of the Arts is also in the works. Wilson Butler Architects designed the project, with Jacobs Engineering Group as project manager.
4. NEW HOTEL, MUSEUM EXPANSION UNDER WAY IN MUSIC CITY
Brasfield & Gorrie is building the Omni Nashville Hotel and an addition to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in downtown Nashville. The project, totaling 1.4 million sf, includes an 800-room hotel and 225,000-sf expansion to the Hall of Fame. The facility will encompass a ballroom, music venues, and restaurants. LEED Silver is targeted. Also on the Building Team: HKS (architect) and Earl Swennson Associates (associate architect).
5. NORTHWESTERN'S MUSIC SCHOOL AWAITS NEW HOME ON EVANSTON CAMPUS
The new home of Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music will be located just south of the school’s Pick-Staiger Concert Hall on the southeastern edge of the Evanston campus. The 152,000-sf building will feature a 400-seat recital hall and a 150-seat opera rehearsal room-cum-black box theater. The project is slated to achieve at least LEED Silver certification. Building Team: Goettsch Partners (architect), Thornton Tomasetti (structural engineer), Cosentini Associates (MEP engineer), and Power Construction (general contractor). Planned completion: 2015.
6. ARTISTS AND VISITORS GO WITH THE FLOW AT NEW CONTEMPORARY ART INSTITUTE
The new Institute for Contemporary Art (ICA) at Virginia Commonwealth University, in Richmond, is designed to facilitate the way artists work today. Designed by Chris McVoy and Steven Holl of Steven Holl Architects, New York, N.Y., the 38,000-sf building will be part exhibition and performance space, part lab and incubator, fit to hold programming from visual art to theater to film. At the heart of the building will be a double-height “forum,” a flexible space that links the three levels of galleries. This floor plan will allow artists to create work that extends across spaces and permit visitors to circulate through the space via a variety of paths. BCWH Architects are the local architects on the project.
7. MARYLAND LIBRARY WILL HOUSE BOOKS WITH A SIDE OF ART
With a 22-month completion plan, The Lukmire Partnership (architect) and Costello Construction (general contractor) have teamed up to complete the 70,000-sf Silver Spring (Md.) Library. The five-story facility will house nonprofit art group Pyramid Atlantic in the basement and on the first two floors, with the library occupying floors three through five. The $35 million library, which is targeting LEED Silver certification, will feature all-glass curtain wall. A combined escalator system with ornamental staircase will be the focal point of the interior.
8. MEDGAR EVERS COLLEGE LIBRARY TO GET MAKEOVER
Medgar Evers College, a City University of New York (CUNY), is planning a $11 million renovation and addition to its 45,720-sf library in Brooklyn. The school commissioned ikon.5 Architects (architect) and MBI Group (general contractor) to head up the project, which will transform the 1980s facility into a contemporary information media commons. The 2,000-SF Welcome Center addition will feature a cafe with a full-height electronic media display, terrazzo floor, and bamboo-clad entry.
Related Stories
| Dec 6, 2014
Future workplace designs shouldn’t need to favor one generation over another, says CBRE report
A new CBRE survey finds that what Millennials expect and need from offices doesn’t vary drastically from tenured employees.
| Dec 5, 2014
Plotting on the go: 3D-printed mechanical compass can print CAD drawings with high precision
Design student Ken Nakagaki has adapted a device to work with CAD software to replicate digital files on paper.
Sponsored | | Dec 5, 2014
New construction outlook report projects growth in 2015
A new 2015 construction outlook report predicts that total U.S. construction starts for 2015 will rise 9% to $612 billion. SPONSORED CONTENT
Sponsored | | Dec 5, 2014
Best practices for force transfer around openings
As wood-frame construction is continuously evolving, designers in many parts of the U.S. are optimizing design solutions that require the understanding of force transfer between elements in the lateral load-resisting system.
| Dec 4, 2014
World’s largest eco-resort to open soon in Indonesia
Just under 10 miles away from Singapore, Funtasy Island (yes, that's the real name) is a resort tucked away in the mangrove islands of the Riau archipelago.
| Dec 4, 2014
£175 million 'Garden Bridge' gets the green light to cross the Thames
Westminster Council has approved a £175 million 'Garden Bridge' that will allow pedestrian traffic only. There has been some controversy about this bridge, which is expected to attract seven million visitors annually.
Sponsored | | Dec 3, 2014
Modular Space Showcase: Bringing work-life balance to energy workers in the Bakken region
To meet the demands of the booming energy business, Williston needs to provide homes, recreation centers, restaurants, hotels, and other support facilities for the tidal wave of energy workers relocating to the Bakken Shale area. SPONSORED CONTENT
| Dec 3, 2014
U.S., Canada, and Mexico finalize agreement to recognize architect credentials
The agreement represents over a decade of negotiations, bringing cross-border recognition of professional credentials from concept to reality in the spirit of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
| Dec 3, 2014
35 cities added to Rockefeller Foundation's 100 Resilient Cities Challenge
Chicago, Dallas, and Pittsburgh are among the U.S. cities to join the 100 Resilient Cities Challenge, pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation.
| Dec 2, 2014
First existing multifamily buildings to earn Energy Star certification unveiled
River City in Chicago is one of 17 existing multifamily properties to earn Energy Star certification, which became available to this sector on Sept. 16 via a scoring system for multifamily properties that Energy Star and Fannie Mae had been developing for three years.
