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
| May 18, 2011
Improvements add to Detroit convention center’s appeal
Interior and exterior renovations and updates will make the Detroit Cobo Center more appealing to conventioneers. A new 40,000-sf ballroom will take advantage of the center’s riverfront location, with views of the river and downtown.
| May 18, 2011
One of Delaware’s largest high schools seeks LEED for Schools designation
The $82 million, 280,000-sf Dover (Del.) High School will have capacity for 1,800 students and feature a 900-seat theater, a 2,500-seat gymnasium, and a 5,000-seat football stadium.
| May 18, 2011
Carnegie Hall vaults into the 21st century with a $200 million renovation
Historic Carnegie Hall in New York City is in the midst of a major $200 million renovation that will bring the building up to contemporary standards, increase educational and backstage space, and target LEED Silver.
| May 17, 2011
Redesigning, redefining the grocery shopping experience
The traditional 40,000- to 60,000-sf grocery store is disappearing and much of the change is happening in the city. Urban infill sites and mixed-use projects offer grocers a rare opportunity to repackage themselves into smaller, more efficient, and more convenient retail outlets. And the AEC community will have a hand in developing how these facilities will look and operate.
| May 17, 2011
Architecture billings index fell in April, hurt by tight financing for projects
The architecture billings index, a leading indicator of U.S. construction activity, fell in April, hurt by tight financing for projects. The architecture billings index fell 2.9 points last month to 47.6, a level that indicates declining demand for architecture services, according to the American Institute of Architects.
| May 17, 2011
Sustainability tops the syllabus at net-zero energy school in Texas
Texas-based firm Corgan designed the 152,200-sf Lady Bird Johnson Middle School in Irving, Texas, with the goal of creating the largest net-zero educational facility in the nation, and the first in the state. The facility is expected to use 50% less energy than a standard school.
| May 17, 2011
Gilbane partners with Steel Orca on ultra-green data center
Gilbane, along with Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates, has been selected to partner with Steel Orca to design and build a 300,000-sf data center in Bucks County, Pa., that will be powered entirely through renewable energy sources--gas, solar, fuel cells, wind and geo-thermal. Completion is scheduled for 2013.
| May 17, 2011
Should Washington, D.C., allow taller buildings?
Suggestions are being made that Washington revise its restrictions on building heights. Architect Roger Lewis, who raised the topic in the Washington Post a few weeks ago, argues for a modest relaxation of the height limits, and thinks that concerns about ruining the city’s aesthetics are unfounded.
