Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts

Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
General information
Type	Performing arts center
Architectural style	Structural Expressionism
Location	Kansas City, Missouri
Coordinates	39.0936981°N 94.5868242°W / 39.0936981; -94.5868242
Construction started	October 6, 2006
Completed	Fall 2011
Inaugurated	September 16, 2011
Cost	$415 million
Technical details
Floor area	13 acres (53,000 m2)
Design and construction
Architect	Moshe Safdie
Other designers	Theatre Projects
Website
www.kauffmancenter.org

The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts is a newly inaugurated performing arts center in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, USA, at 16th and Broadway near the Power & Light District, the Sprint Center and the Crossroads Arts District. Its construction was a major part of the ongoing redevelopment of downtown Kansas City.

The Center was created as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Unlike some other major civic construction projects, no taxpayer funds went into its construction. The City of Kansas City, however, built and operates a parking garage at the Center.

It is performance home to the Kansas City Symphony, the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and the Kansas City Ballet which in the past performed at the Lyric Theatre (Kansas City, Missouri), eight blocks north of the center.

Construction

Ground was broken on October 6, 2006, and the Kauffman Center held its grand opening on September 16, 17 and 18, 2011. The Center itself is an approximately 285,000 square foot (26,500 m²) facility with two sophisticated performance venues: the 1,800-seat proscenium-style Muriel Kauffman Theatre and 1,600-seat concert Helzberg Hall. The Kauffman Center covers 13 acres (53,000 m²), including landscaped grounds over a 1,000-space underground parking garage. The technical requirements and exacting standards required of a facility like the Kauffman Center made it one of the most complex structures in the world to design and build. The cost of the project was approximately $413 million, including a $40 million operating endowment.

Designers and Builder

The Kauffman Center was designed by lead architect Moshe Safdie, acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota, theater consultant Richard Pilbrow, and engineering firm Arup. Local firm BNIM was the executive architect. Lead contractor was J.E. Dunn Construction Group of Kansas City.

Architecture

The structure of the Kauffman Center is formed by a series of undulating vertical segments of a circle, forming the northern container of the Muriel Kauffman Theatre's backstage, and Helzberg Hall. They form an ascending, segmented, gently curving, crown to the building. From the crest, the roof descends in a curve following the geometry of a torus of light cables, metal and glass structure toward the South. The tensile forces of the suspended glass roof of the foyer are counteracted by a series of cables tying down the structure to anchors at the entrance terrace. The curved, segmented northern walls are sheathed with stainless steel and punctuated by perpendicular, acid-etched, limestone-colored, pre-cast concrete walls. The theater facades are sheathed with beechwood panels forming continuous, curved, stacked balconies. The various lounges form sculptural shapes visible under the glass foyer structure.

Performance Facilities

The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts houses two performance halls:

• The Muriel Kauffman Theatre is an 1,800-seat proscenium-style theater for general theatrical performances, ballet and opera.

• The Helzberg Hall is a 1,600-seat concert hall. It features vineyard-style seating on all four sides of the stage. It also contains a 75-stop, 102-rank pipe organ built by the firm Casavant Frères in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada.

The two venues are joined by the Brandmeyer Great Hall with an expansive view to the south. The hall serves as a lobby for patrons on performance nights and is also available for special events.

See also

• List of concert halls

External links

• Official Website