Last month the City of Dallas opened the City Performance Hall, a “village for the arts” meant to help cap off its growing arts district. Architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill took that title to heart, seeking input from local artists and opting for elegance in the presence of its commanding neighbors, the REX/OMA-designed Wyly Theater and Norman Foster’s Winspear Opera House.
Exposed concrete walls add texture to the performance space, as well as a canvas for lighting design by Schuler Shook. A programmable LED wall acts as a curtain onstage; its electric presence adding to a sense of motion along the striations of the concrete walls. The 750-seat theater is linked to two 200-seat performance halls and several smaller rooms by a series of curving roofs, producing a physical through-line, or spine, for the myriad Dallas performance groups that will share the spaces.
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Local input was critical to the ultimate success of the structure, which will house many of Dallas’ smaller performance troupes and artist groups. If art is a societal endeavor, this publicly funded project hopes to give its foot soldiers a home to hone their crafts.