In Tune

New Concert Hall, Theater Focus on Acoustics, Atmosphere

By Greg Aragon

A symphony takes time and patience to compose.

The creation of the new $200 million Rene and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall and Samueli Theater in Costa Mesa is no different.

"Concert halls are buildings that require a great deal of time to develop and construct," said project designer Cesar Pelli of New Haven, Conn.-based Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects. "They are large, sophisticated structures that need to respond to the minutest elements that will affect the sound and the pleasure of being there."

Located on 2.5 acres adjacent to the existing Orange County Performing Arts Center, the new 290,000-sq.-ft. project includes the 2,000-seat, acoustically adjustable Rene and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall and the 500-seat Samueli Theater. The building will also house a music library, two large orchestra chambers for rehearsals, eight individual rehearsal rooms, 15 dressing rooms, and a still-unnamed public restaurant.

The hall and theater were named after real estate developer Henry Segerstrom, who donated $40 million to the privately funded project in 2000, and the Samueli Foundation, which donated $10 million in 2001.

Fluor Corp. of Aliso Viejo is serving as the construction manager, and New York-based Artec Consultants Inc., led by Russell Johnson, is the theatrical and acoustical consultant.

The structure's exterior will be highlighted by a 300-ft.-long glass façade, which flows like a flag in the wind. The façade, ranging from 52 to 87 ft. tall, is made from of 650 panes of glass (50,000 sq. ft.) hanging independently from horizontal mullions, with no vertical supports.

"The idea for the [exterior] came from the character of Orange County and its proximity to the ocean and from the nature of the building, which is to listen to music so that the waves of sound and the waves of the sea reflect in some of the forms of this building," Pelli said. "In the façade and interior, sensual forms will make you feel like you have been completely enveloped by the music when you are at a concert."

One of the keys to the "shoebox"-shaped hall's professional sound will be the placement of three, silver-leafed, acoustical canopies that will form a shimmering ceiling, reflecting both the performers and audience below. Hung on wire robes from the 70-ft.-high ceiling, the canopies, which weigh a total of 86,000 lbs, range in size from 54 to 69 ft. wide and from 10 to 32 ft. long. They will be height adjustable, depending upon the size of the performance.

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Darrell Waters, Flour project director, said working with the canopies was one of the biggest challenges he faced on the project.

"Because of construction sequencing, we were putting up the huge canopies at the same time the roof was going up and at the same time we were installing the terrazzo flooring," he added.

Waters said this forced crews to lower the large canopy pieces through the top of the building with a crane before the roof could be finished, which left the new flooring and interior work vulnerable to rain and other construction hazards. He said weekly meetings and constant communication with the subs, along with a lot of plastic covering, were important in coordinating a safe and steady work flow during this part of the construction.

The concert hall will be surrounded by a 50,000-sq.-ft. plaza, created by Berkeley-based landscape architect Peter Walker and Partners. Designed to unify the new center with existing facilities, the courtyard will feature asphalt pavers, accented by white granite, in a rich chevron pattern across the floor.

There will also be benches, grass and a 60-ft.-across lighted fountain that will shoot water 15 ft. high. The fountain will form a turnaround for cars dropping off at the main entrance to the concert hall and performing arts center.

"The plaza will form the ceremonial entrance for the performing arts center and the new concert hall," Waters said.

Construction on the concert hall and theater broke ground in February 2003. Grand opening ceremonies, including a six-week festival of artists and world premieres, are scheduled for Sept. 15.