urban performance space

317 core studio_fall 2011

studio critic: Christine Yogiaman, Assistant Professor at the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts  

program: indoor and outdoor theater  

location: Washington Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri

The third and final project of 317 core studio was the design of an urban performance space on an  infill site on Washington Avenue in the warehouse district of St. Louis. To the north of the site is the famed City Museum. The program includes two 150-seat theaters, one interior and one exterior, a main lobby and back of house spaces. This was quite a challenge since the site only measures  38’ x 130’. I saw the site as an opportunity to connect Washington Avenue and the City Museum. Using my precedent study as a guide, I suspended the entire building off the ground creating a plaza below that can be used for outdoor performances. The main lobby of the interior theater overlooks this new urban space and the street. Kinked openings create a cinematic procession from the main lobby up to the theater, framing multiple views of the museum and the city.

study models  (click through)

plans, section and elevations