Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

300, South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States

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Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

300, South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Type

Cultural › Hall/Theater

YEAR

2001

SIZE

1,000,000 +

The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, home of the
Philadelphia Orchestra, evokes the image of two jewels in a glass case. Verizon
Hall and the Perelman Theater, the center’s principal programmatic components,
are treated as freestanding buildings on a vast indoor public plaza,
Commonwealth Plaza, enclosed by a brick, steel and concrete perimeter building.
From the perimeter emerges an immense steel and glass barrel vault roof that
floods the interior with natural light. By applying knowledge gained from acoustic models of the
19th century to the construction of a new music space, RVA designed the
2,500-seat Verizon Hall as a large cello, clad in mahogany. The natural
acoustic properties of this shape are supplemented by a series of devices
deployed throughout the hall. Operable doors allow sound to flow into
reverberation chambers that occupy the interstitial space between the exterior
enclosure and the interior of the hall.
This programmable system is augmented by retractable sound-absorbing
curtains within the chambers and a configurable acoustic canopy that directs
sound energy out to the audience while allowing the musicians to hear
themselves clearly. The Perelman Theater, an intimate multi-purpose recital
hall, can accommodate an audience of 650 for cultural performances and other
events. Its innovative turntable stage enables transformation from a
conventional proscenium to a smaller arena with a concert shell and wrap-around
seating. The seating section is mounted on hydraulic risers that allow removal
of the seats to create a ballroom floor or banquet hall. The Perelman’s roof
garden features striking views of Verizon Hall, Commonwealth Plaza, and the
city skyline. Commonwealth Plaza, a sheltered extension of the sidewalk,
encourages the fabric of the city to flow into the complex where, cafes, free
performances, the spectacle of the space and the people who visit, combine to
create an exciting civic experience. The glass barrel vault soaring 50 meters
over the plaza becomes the new iconic image of Philadelphia.