Dynamic spaces that captivate, connect, and spark creative exploration
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Designing a performance venue is an art in itself—one that demands not just technical expertise but also an understanding of the complex interplay between space, sound, and emotion. Stantec’s approach goes beyond the conventional; it’s about creating environments that perform in every sense of the word.
From the moment the audience arrives, the venue begins to tell a story, shaping the experience through thoughtful design, versatile spaces, and immersive technologies. Performance isn’t confined to the stage; it’s woven into the fabric of the building, ensuring that every moment, from the opening act to the final curtain, is unforgettable.
The design of a performance venue must prioritize the audience experience, ensuring that every seat provides an immersive connection to the stage. Thoughtful seating arrangements, unobstructed sightlines, and seamless accessibility are central to Stantec’s design philosophy. By creating spaces that foster this connection, we make audiences integral to the performance, allowing them to experience every nuance and emotion as intended by the artists.
As cultural hubs, performance venues are vital to community spirit, serving all patrons regardless of age, background, or ability. Stantec is committed to inclusive design, integrating assistive technologies, championing sensory-friendly spaces, and ensuring accessible seating and intuitive wayfinding. This approach transforms the venue into a center of community engagement, fostering a deep sense of belonging for every visitor.
In today’s dynamic arts landscape, performance venues must be adaptable to host a variety of events. Stantec designs offer the flexibility to transform a space from a concert hall to a theater and accommodate different stage formats such as thrust, round, or end stages. This versatility serves the diverse needs of artists and audiences alike, ensuring that venues remain relevant and functional for years to come.
Modern performance venues must integrate state-of-the-art technology to support increasingly complex productions. From advanced lighting and sound systems to innovative projection techniques and stage mechanics, Stantec leverages the latest technologies to enable immersive experiences. This integration allows for a wide range of creative possibilities, giving artists the tools they need to push boundaries.
A performance venue’s success is largely determined by its acoustics. Every sound, from a whispered line to a powerful crescendo, must reach the audience with clarity and precision. Stantec prioritizes acoustic design to ensure that venues deliver superior sound quality. Through careful consideration of materials, spatial dimensions, and sound dynamics, these spaces enhance the emotional impact of every performance.
Behind every performance is a network of essential support spaces facilitating the production process, including scene and costume shops, dressing rooms, and storage for instruments, props, and other essential items. These spaces are functional and inspire creativity, providing performers and crews with everything they need to deliver their best work.
Modernization and preservation are key to maintaining relevance and function in the ever-changing world of performance venues. Stantec excels at transforming existing buildings into versatile performance venues, but we also have a soft spot for revitalizing historic structures. By blending modern technology, infrastructure, and systems with the original design’s character and integrity, the building retains its iconic status while adapting to the needs of contemporary audiences and performances.
The business of theater requires balancing artistic vision with financial sustainability. Venues must navigate complex financial landscapes, managing budgets while optimizing resources. Right-sizing spaces to maximize revenue opportunities, ensuring quick turnarounds to adapt to different events, developing revenue-generating vendor strategies, and delivering costeffective design solutions culminate in culturally significant and financially viable venues.
A high-performing venue is one that stands the test of time, both in function and environmental impact. Stantec designs with sustainability in mind, employing energy-efficient systems, sustainable materials, and practices that minimize environmental footprint. This commitment to sustainability ensures venues are built not just for today but for future generations. We strive to transform performance venues into vibrant canvases where every high-performing element contributes to a memorable experience, leaving a lasting impression long after the final
Performance isn’t confined to the stage; it’s woven into the fabric of the building, ensuring that every moment—from rehearsal, to lights up, to final curtain—is unforgettable
• New York University Paulson Center and Tisch School of the Arts Studio Renovations / New York, NY (Designed with KieranTimberlake)
210,000 sf of performing arts spaces including Warehouse Theatre (150 seats) • African Grove Theatre (150 seats)
• Iris Cantor Theatre (350 seats) • Orchestra rehearsal room • Tisch school of the arts program inc. acting and voice studios
• The Perelman Center for the Performing Arts
New York, NY (as Executive Architect with REX) 1200+ total capacity in flexible configurations incl. Theater-in-the-Round (427 seats) and Intimate Theater (99 seats)
• RPI Experimental Media Performing Arts Center Troy, NY (as Executive Architect with Grimshaw) Concert hall (1200 seats) • End-stage theater (400 seats) • Black box theater (150 seats)
• Oprah Winfrey Theater, National Museum of African American History and Culture / Washington, DC (Designed as Freelon Adjaye Bond, with SmithGroup) Multi-purpose theater (350 seat) for performances, screenings, symposia, and cultural events
• Irish Arts Center, Phases I + II / New York, NY Flexible theater (199 seats) • 74-seat ‘historic’ theater
• Support facilities incl. rehearsal studio classroom, multi-purpose classrooms, exhibit areas, and café
• Sam Houston State University Gaertner Performing Arts Center / Huntsville, TX
Concert hall (800 seats) • Recital hall (175 seats) • Dance theatre (150 seats) • Outdoor performance space
• Dance studios, practice & dressing rooms, scene/ costume shops
• University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Performing Arts Complex / Edinburg, TX
Performing arts auditorium (1,000 seats) • Rehearsal spaces for band, orchestra, choir, and mariachi/jazz ensembles
• The Palace Theatre Renovation / Albany, NY
2,800-seat restored deco-era theater • Expanded lobby, dressing rooms, elevator, additional storage and rehearsal areas
• Columbia University Lenfest Center for the Arts
New York, NY (as Executive Architect with RPBW)
Flexible theater (120 seats) • Screening room (150 seats)
• Wallach Gallery • Multi-purpose room (200 seats)
• Invisible Worlds at the Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation, American Museum of Natural History / New York, NY
(as Executive Architect w/ Studio Gang) 360° Immersion Experience Theater
• Dartmouth University Hopkins Center for the Arts
Hanover, NH (as Executive Architect with Snøhetta) 900-seat theater with augmented technology for sharing performances around the globe • Multiple performance venues, studios, workshops, and rehearsal spaces
• The Center for Arts & Innovation / Boca Raton, FL (as Executive Architect with RPBW)
Public event, performance, and education spaces with a capacity of 6,000 visitors • 100-person rooftop panoramic space • 100,000 sf of solar panels
• MIT Kresge Auditorium & Chapel / Cambridge, MA
Renovation of two historic Eero Saarinen buildings including Concert Hall (1,200 seats) • Small theater (177 seats) • Two rehearsal rooms • Dressing rooms • Restored MIT Chapel
• Greenhill School, Marshall Family Performing Arts Center / Addison, TX (AOR w/ Weiss Manfredi)
Proscenium theatre (600 seats) • 3,000 sf black box theatre, rehearsal studio & support facilities • Dance and recital hall • Green room
• Dressing rooms and costume shop • Video and film production classrooms
• Bowie State University Fine and Performing Arts Center / Bowie, MD
Main stage theater (400 seats)
• Black box theater (200 seats) • Movement studio (90 seats)
• Greer Garson Theatre & Other Arts Venues, Southern Methodist University / University Park, TX Greer Garson Theatre (394 seats, thrust stage) •
Archives Screening Theaters • Lecture/Recital Hall (182 seats): The Taubman Atrium • Sharp Performing Arts
Studio (black box / ballet) • Ballet studio
• SMU Owen Fine Arts Center / University Park, TX
Electronic keyboard studio • Electronic music studio • Fine Arts Center music therapy suite • Psychoacoustics
lab • Piano rehearsal studios
• Lewisville Center for the Creative Arts / Lewisville, TX
Performance hall (297 seats) • 3,000 sf black box theatre • 13,000 sf performance courtyard
• Jacob Burns Film Center / Pleasantville, NY
Large cinema (145 seats) • Screening room (70 seats)
• Walter Reade Theater, Film at Lincoln Center / New York, NY
State-of-the-art film-screening theater (270 seats, including 18 removable to accommodate wheelchairs)
Integrating the performing arts in a multidisciplinary academic environment
The John A. Paulson Center is a 735,000-square-foot mixed-use academic building that addresses New York University’s (NYU) space needs for multiple programs, embodies its character and vibrancy, and offers new ways for the University to engage with its community and the city of New York. Situated at the southern boundary of the main campus, it serves as a new gateway for the University.
Designed to optimize interactions between diverse student groups and academic disciplines, it includes classrooms, informal study spaces, three performing arts theaters, a large rehearsal space and practice rooms for music, varsity sports facilities, a recreational gymnasium, and two food service venues, as well as faculty and first-year student housing. These spaces each belong to a distinct academic neighborhood, which in turn connects to generous perimeter circulation and an open and expansive commons area for collaborative study, meeting, and gathering.
The renowned Tisch School of the Arts and Steinhardt Department of Music are a central component of the multiuse facility, comprising 210,000 square feet between the two schools. This new facility provides a diverse range of learning environments for their world-class drama and music programs, with dedicated and collaborative spaces for teaching, learning, rehearsing, and performing. Highlights of the Tisch and Steinhardt program include:
Iris Cantor Proscenium Theatre
The Cantor Theater is the first professional-level proscenium theater at NYU. It can function as a Broadway-sized stage and fly tower or transform into a music concert hall perfectly sized and tuned to accommodate a wide variety of performances including musical theater, film, spoken word, drama, and orchestral ensembles. Of note:
• 350 seats over three levels
• Features include a fly tower and lighting galleries, stage trap, overhead catwalks, orchestra shell and reflectors, canted throat walls adjacent to the proscenium for acoustic projection, followspot booth, and control booth
• Large, mechanized orchestra lift that allows for various configurations of audience seating and extension of the stage and orchestra pit
• Three floors of lobby space that seamlessly connect to the broader NYU community and theatergoers
Warehouse Theatre
This unique 140-seat experimental theater provides a flexible space for Tisch graduate students to explore innovative performances. It features:
• Use of a Mod-truss system to create the inner box, which is a fully demountable wall system made up of modular, reconfigurable elements
• An overhead catwalk system with movable catwalk trolleys
• Fully reconfigurable seating platforms
African Grove Theatre
Named for the nation’s first black theater, which was founded on this site in 1821, this 140-seat end-stage theater features a range of flexible components that support the Tisch graduate department curriculum, including:
• A flexible seating well that provides opportunities for innovative performances
• Motorized rigging on the stage side with dead-hung, fixed rigging on the audience side
• Movable gantry
Flanked by landscaped terraces at the top of the podium, the Ensemble Rehearsal Room sits between two green roofs. The technologically innovative space is the crown jewel of the Steinhardt Department of Music program. It features:
• A double-glazed wall providing visual connection to the city while acoustically separating the spaces from the noisy exterior environment
• Slatted, faceted walls to control the acoustics of the space
• Acoustic banners along the perimeter to absorb sound and create different types of acoustic environments
• Adjacent control booth doubles as a recording studio
In addition to the dedicated theater spaces and the Ensemble Rehearsal Room, the new building also provides a range of areas for Tisch and Steinhardt graduate and undergraduate students to rehearse, collaborate, and experiment. They include two cabaret studios and three dance studios; three general purpose studios; 58 music practice rooms; large ensemble music classroom; percussion studio; music instruction rooms and music library; dressing rooms; woodshops and metal shops; and wardrobe work rooms.
The Stantec team developed the final building program over the course of seven months, during which we toured and analyzed existing spaces and held over 70 visioning sessions and meetings with a range of constituents to address the diverse programmatic requirements. These constituents included representatives from the President’s Executive Steering Committee; Steinhardt Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions; Tisch School of the Arts; Athletics; Student Life and Student Housing; and Law School and Business School Representatives. Our collaboration with these diverse constituents continued throughout the design phases of the project providing valuable insight in articulating and prioritizing the distinct needs and technical challenges of each program.
technology
an innovative
highly-transformable
A key component of the master plan to rebuild the WTC site following the attacks on September 11, 2001, the Perelman Center for Performing Arts (PAC NYC) creates approximately 135,000 sf of space for theater, dance, music, film, and opera in Lower Manhattan, becoming an anchor for the arts community. The building’s exterior form is an internally-illuminated cube supported on a stone base. Its simple massing is a counterpoint to the diverse forms of the site’s redevelopment, as the building occupies a prominent location, bordering the National September 11 Memorial Plaza and One World Trade Center.
PAC NYC is a technically-sophisticated and highly transformable facility. Stantec actively led the process to find solutions to the project’s myriad technical challenges, which included the need for movable primary building system components, acoustic and vibration isolation, accessibility, highly prescriptive protective design and life safety requirements, and the accommodation of third-party MEP systems. The building is designed to be highly adaptable, capable of being reconfigured into theaters of different scales ranging from 100-seat intimate in-the-round or 1,200-seat, 2-balcony, raked, end thrust layouts.
Supporting the theaters, PAC NYC has a rehearsal room that epitomizes the flexibility inherent to the facility. It is truly a multipurpose space, outfitted to function as a performance space, acoustically separated to function as a ‘fourth venue’ as well as social gathering space for performance intermissions. The rehearsal room allows PAC NYC’s patrons to truly see behind the curtain at the inner workings of a performing arts center. The open and welcoming lobby is spatially organized around a prominent stage platform, provided to encourage spontaneous, impromptu performances by patrons and the community.
PAC NYC can be reconfigured into theaters of different scales ranging from 100-seat intimate in-the-round or 1,200seat, 2-balcony, raked, end thrust layouts. These transformations utilize a trap equipped with removable platforms and seating lifts, four movable seating towers, vertically-retractable guillotine doors and demountable balconies.
These pistons allow the theater stage and floor to be quickly reconfigured from flat floor to stepped seating in a highly flexible way
Leading-edge performing arts laboratory that brings together the arts, sciences, and technology under one roof
Designed to explore new technological innovations in the performing arts and provide the highest quality in acoustic and visual facilities, the new Experimental Media & Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in upstate New York is a groundbreaking new resource to the institute. Precisely tailored to its complex program, EMPAC houses a 1,200-seat concert hall, a 400-seat theater with a full fly tower, two adaptive environment (“black box”) studios including an audio and video production suite, artists-in-residence studios, a campus radio station, and a dance studio.
As the nation’s oldest technological university, with one of the first undergraduate programs in Electronic Media and Arts in the United States, RPI has further validated its position at the forefront of experimental media with this facility.
The design team took advantage of the site’s challenging hillside location by positioning the facility’s entrance at the highest elevation. From this easily accessible location, patrons descend through seven levels of the central atrium, which serves as the social hub of the building.
With one of the first undergraduate programs in Electronic Media and Arts in the United States, RPI has further validated its position at the forefront of experimental media with this facility
The dramatic 1,200-seat Concert Hall — which combines the refined acoustics and comfort of great concert halls of the past with 21st century technology and flexibility — is wrapped inside a “hull” of curved cedar planks, which hovers inside a glass exterior, providing a practical and elegant enclosure for the hall’s extensive mechanical and circulation corridors. A true “black box” venue with minimal architectural finish, Studio 1 is well suited for audio and music while also seamlessly accommodating scientific visualization, multi-screen and immersive performances, and dance.
The immediate physical space can all but disappear; video projection can take place on all sides beneath a 40-ft ceiling that features a walkable theatrical grid over the entire surface of the room. The floors are finished in resilient wood and painted matte black. The walls are composed of adjustable acoustic wall diffusion panels and are also painted matte black. Studio 2 is a smaller sibling of Studio 1, and while well suited for dance and visual presentations, it is optimized for music recitals and recording and therefore has a “lights on” architectural character rather than being a black box. In addition to its tension wire grid ceiling, Studio 2 is finished with a resilient maple floor and ivorycolored adjustable acoustic wall diffusion panels.
Serving the community—an inclusive venue for dynamic performance and cultural enrichment
The Oprah Winfrey Theater at the National Museum of African American History and Culture is located below ground, opening directly into Concourse C of the museum’s History Galleries. The main theater entrance is off the main lobby, down a great circular steel staircase. The 355-seat theater is designed to accommodate a variety of uses. It features a proscenium stage and an auditorium that are both 50 feet wide. The stage itself is approximately 23 feet deep, and the room extends 90 feet in length, with a ceiling height ranging from 23 to 27 feet.
The theater has become a local and national cultural center — home to myriad events including symposia, curator talks, conferences, corporate meetings and presentations, awards ceremonies, live theatrical performances, dance, live music from jazz to string ensembles, feature films, documentaries, archival media in a variety of formats, and other special programming.
“People kind of gasp when they walk in. It’s not ostentatious, just gorgeous.”
— Peter Rosenbaum, FDA
Free public screenings of a wide array of films, including nationally premiering works from first-run studios, independent films, restored classic works, hard-to-find restored films, and works from the museum’s permanent collection, are hosted at the theater by the Stafford Center for African American Media Arts (CAAMA), often followed by lively post-screening interviews and discussions.
The venue was prioritized by the design team for early completion in order to host the museum’s opening day festivities, concerts, and lectures. Aesthetically, the theater interior echoes the architectural themes that characterize the rest of the building, with acoustic panels bearing the distinctive form and pattern of the building’s distinctive corona, which was inspired by the ornate ironwork of Charleston, Savannah, and New Orleans, much of which was created by enslaved and free African Americans. “It’s a jewel box of a space,” says Peter Rosenbaum of FDA, our acoustic and AV consultant. “People kind of gasp when they walk in,” says Keith Madden, the theater director. “It’s not ostentatious, just gorgeous.”
A dynamic venue for cross-cultural collaboration and artistic expression
The Irish Arts Center (IAC) is a home for cultural exchange with Ireland, a place for creation and development of new productions, a venue that supports cross-collaborations between US and Irish artists in many disciplines, and a center for educational programs that serves both the Irish-American and larger community. For most of its existence, the IAC operated out of a converted three-story tenement building, whose ground floor garage was transformed into a small theater. Our new expansion develops an adjacent existing building on 11th Avenue which is connected to the original facility, creating a center with two venues, as well as associated support, classroom, and rehearsal space.
The renovated and expanded 21,700 sf Irish Arts Center will house the flexible, 199-seat JL Greene theater, a rehearsal studio classroom, a multi-purpose classroom, exhibit areas, and a café as well as the restored 99-seat historic theater.
The new IAC will provide spaces for collaboration among the creative disciplines of music, theater, dance, film, comedy, literature, and the visual arts. The JL Greene Theater—used for drama, spoken word, and music—was designed to provide a flexible and neutral backdrop for set design while retaining a distinct character for concerts. The solution included integrating dark-stained, sacrificial plywood panels, which allows for the adaptability of a black box while providing a sense of warmth and richness when the lights are on.
The multi-purpose classroom provides literature, language, distance-learning, music, and dance instruction and can also host events such as VIP theater functions and community meetings. Additionally, a robust public spaces program includes a café, gallery, lobby, and atrium spaces supported by infrastructure that allows these spaces to accommodate visual arts, live performances, and community events.
The building is organized to create a ground level ‘campus experience’ by locating theater lobby spaces as well as the café, gallery, and studio classroom on the first floor. The theater is situated on the second floor, and in order to have backstage dressing rooms and support spaces adjacent to the main stage. The project sought to increase the height of the rear portion of the building by three feet to accommodate a second floor of back-stage support.
Acoustical separations between adjacent performance, rehearsal, classroom, and café spaces were critical. We worked closely with the acoustician on cost effective acoustic separation details between program areas and neighboring properties. Recognizing the relatively high percentage of space dedicated to egress components for public assembly spaces on a small site, one of the two required egress stairs also serves as a main stairway to the theater.
Irish Arts Center Phase 2
We are currently engaged in Phase 2 of the Irish Arts Center which will replace their original building on West 51 Street with a new 75-seat performance venue and staff offices. The new theater complements the main JL Greene with an intimate and smaller scale setting for music, spoken word, and film. The new theater is accessed from the 11th Avenue building lobby and café and utilizes the existing public amenities and theater support spaces that were planned for the final build-out.
Our team stands out in the industry by offering a comprehensive suite of inhouse integrated design services.
Many of our clients rely on our single, cohesive team to handle many aspects of their project, from initial concept to project completion. This approach can save time and cost while enhancing the overall quality and consistency of the project outcomes. Our multidisciplinary team’s diverse expertise allows us to tackle even the most complex challenges with creative solutions tailored to each client’s unique needs. By choosing Stantec, clients gain a trusted partner dedicated to transforming their vision into reality with precision, passion, and a genuine commitment to excellence. We look forward to learning more about your specific needs and tailoring our team to help achieve your project goals.
Stantec is a global design leader in sustainable engineering, architectural, planning, and environmental services.
Our technical specialists are at the forefront of innovations that help communities predict and plan for climate change, enhance biodiversity and environmaental health, provide social value, develop economic opportunities, and create a sense of place and well-being. At Stantec, sustainability is key to our purpose, promise, and values. And we live it every day because we are accountable to our communities—to strengthening them and making them resilient for whatever the future may hold.
Ranked among top 1% in the world on sustainable performance 2024 Corporate Knights Global 100 Ranked most sustainable corporation among industry peers
Carbon neutrality achieved and continuing as we progress to net zero Our Operational Pledge
Design Director, Arts & Culture Sector Leader
Stantec 30+ years of experience
With more than 30 years as a professional architect, Mark has extensive experience and a keen insight into the design of cultural projects. His passion for comprehensive, thoughtful design solutions and ability to navigate complex challenges has placed him in the leadership role of some of the firm’s most noteworthy cultural projects. He successfully shepherds projects from initial planning and conceptualization to awardwinning built outcomes. Mark’s practice centers on experiencebased design, focusing on human interaction with space and context to create environments which serve the mission of an institution and find their place in the surrounding community to which they ultimately belong.
Contact Mark at mark.wagner@stantec.com or Tiffany Yewens at tiffany.yewens@stantec.com
Stantec is a global leader in sustainable architecture, engineering, and environmental consulting. The diverse perspectives of our partners and interested parties drive us to think beyond what’s previously been done on critical issues like climate change, digital transformation, and future-proofing our cities and infrastructure. We innovate at the intersection of community, creativity, and client relationships to advance communities everywhere, so that together we can redefine what’s possible.
