A major project unifying the historic theaters of Cleveland's PlayhouseSquare officially opens tonight with the lighting of a 20-foot chandelier, billed as the world's largest outdoor fixture of its kind.
The complex includes 10 venues and is the second largest performing arts venue in the nation, behind Lincoln Center, as measured by seats in a contiguous complex. The streetscape project includes monumental gateway portals, digital theater marquees and historically inspired theater signage, a sidewalk network of LED signage, LED tickers in signage ribbons, and a new plaza, fire pit, sidewalk café, and alfresco dining area.
On the Building Team: URS (architect, MEP, structural, landscape design), Barnycz Group (project, technology, and multimedia content design), JK Design Group (lighting design), and Turner Construction Company (construction). Lumid of Montreal designed the chandelier, which was sponsored by GE Lighting.
The video and images below, courtesy of Playhouse Square Foundation and its real estate division, give a good feel for the project's impact.
Related Stories
| May 1, 2013
Data center construction remains healthy, but oversupply a concern
Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google are among the major tech companies investing heavily to build state-of-the-art data centers.
| May 1, 2013
Groups urge Congress: Keep energy conservation requirements for government buildings
More than 350 companies urge rejection of special interest efforts to gut key parts of Energy Independence and Security Act
| May 1, 2013
World’s tallest children’s hospital pushes BIM to the extreme
The Building Team for the 23-story Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago implements an integrated BIM/VDC workflow to execute a complex vertical program.
| Apr 30, 2013
Healthcare lighting innovation: Overhead fixture uses UV to kill airborne pathogens
Designed specifically for hospitals, nursing homes, child care centers, and other healthcare facilities where infection control is a concern, the Arcalux Health Risk Management System (HRMS) is an energy-efficient lighting fixture that doubles as a germ-killing machine.
| Apr 30, 2013
First look: North America's tallest wooden building
The Wood Innovation Design Center (WIDC), Prince George, British Columbia, will exhibit wood as a sustainable building material widely availablearound the globe, and aims to improve the local lumber economy while standing as a testament to new construction possibilities.
| Apr 26, 2013
Apple scales back Campus 2 plans to reduce price tag
Apple will delay the construction of a secondary research and development building on its "spaceship" campus in an attempt to drive down the cost of developing its new headquarters.
| Apr 26, 2013
Documentary shows 'starchitects' competing for museum project
"The Competition," a new documentary produced by Angel Borrego Cuberto of Madrid, focuses on the efforts of five 'starchitects' to capture the design contract for the new National Museum of Art of Andorra: a small country in the Pyrenees between Spain and France.
| Apr 26, 2013
Solving the parking dilemma in U.S. cities
ArchDaily's Rory Stott yesterday posted an interesting exploration of progressive parking strategies being employed by cities and designers. The lack of curbside and lot parking exacerbates traffic congestion, discourages visitors, and leads to increased vehicles emissions.
| Apr 26, 2013
Decaying city: Exhibit demonstrates the fragility of the man-made world
Theater set designer Johanna Mårtensson built a model cityscape out of bread only to watch it decay.
| Apr 25, 2013
SmithGroupJJR hires Lise Newman as Workplace Studio Leader in Detroit
SmithGroupJJR, one of the nation's largest architecture, engineering and planning firms, has hired architect Lise Newman, AIA, as Workplace Studio leader at its Detroit, Mich. office.