The rebirth of the Hollywood Bowl marked the end of a six-year process in which Hodgetts + Fung re-invented the acoustics, enhanced the functionality, and nearly doubled the size of that hundred-year old icon while echoing the memory and visual identity of the original. As architects for a designated Historic Resource it was our responsibility to first research and document a responsible approach to the acoustic and back-of-house shortcomings of the existing 1928 shell, propose a feasible solution, collaborate on the creation of EIR documents, and finally, to create design documentation with the participation of production architects Victor Gruen and Associate. The new structure, spanning 124 feet, was prefabricated off site and craned into position immediately following the season finale, and the completed shell hosted its first performance exactly nine months later. As expected, Hodgetts + Fung’s controversial design for the computer controlled “acoustic halo” required only a brief adjustment prior to the debut concert, which was ecstatically received by musicians and audience alike.
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