Innovative materials craft befitting story for Arkansas theater
by arslan_ahmed | October 31, 2023 11:45 am
The 4,645-m2 (50,000-sf) TheatreSquared (T2) building in Fayetteville, Arkansas, is an architectural gem, combining two theaters, artist apartments, rehearsal spaces, offices, educational areas, and community spaces, designed with innovative materials that create a distinctive identity fit for a cultural center within the city.
This permanent home for Northwest Arkansas’s only year-round professional theater company, known as T2, offers not only nationally acclaimed productions, but also an educational outreach program, bringing the arts to students in the region.
According to the project architect, MARVEL’s website: “To further the concept of theaters as a place for storytelling, the materials used also tell stories. The various lives that wood may possess—as a raw material, a concrete texture, charred, stained, veneered as plywood, chopped into oriented strand board (OSB), as furniture, or walls, or floors—all appear within the building. A story of construction processes is also told—the pine boards used to make the board form concrete envelopes were cleaned, stained, and repurposed as interior finish materials in the studio and rehearsal performance spaces.”
The design process was a collaborative effort with the client, guided by the company’s vision statement. The concept that the performance space is the “beating heart of the building” is evident in the exposed concrete theatre envelope, visible from all sides—from the exterior, into the commons, and into the back-of-house corridors—letting passersby, patrons, and actors locate themselves in relation to this building.
Sustainable processes and local materials played a crucial role in the design. Furniture was crafted from trees felled on-site, local Ozark boulders adorn the landscaping, and recycled local pine was used for interior finishes on the board-formed concrete walls.
The building’s “commons” area, linking the three performance venues and facing the future park, opens to the street, serves as a welcoming living room for the city. This aligns with TheatreSquared’s belief that theatre should be accessible to all, with frequent public programs and a daily open cafe.
The mainstage and studio theatre feature acoustically soundproofed envelopes to mitigate the nearby railroad noise. The new main theatre retains the extra-wide stage shape of the previous venue, adding a wrap-around balcony to increase capacity. Audience members enter at the stage level, offering an up-close and personal theatre experience. Performance capabilities extend beyond the theatres, with integrated audiovisual and stage lighting systems in public spaces.
The Rehearsal Room, projecting over the northwest corner, shows the inner workings of the building, clad in charred wood and offering a glimpse into the process of mounting a show. The eastern spine houses T2’s operational needs, including offices, dressing rooms, shops, and a green room.
Situated south of Fayetteville’s main commercial artery, Dickson Street, and nestled between the Walton Arts Center and the public library, this building enriches the city’s cultural landscape. The planned park across the street, replacing a parking lot, will further invigorate the area, attracting pedestrians, cyclists, families, and individuals of all ages.
Source URL: https://www.constructionspecifier.com/innovative-materials-craft-befitting-story-for-arkansas-theater/