Raising the Bar

The Kimmel Center opens its doors on the Avenue of the Arts in Philadelphia.

By: Jodi Thompson
   The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia opens Dec. 16 to great fanfare. Located on the Avenue of the Arts, the elaborately designed arts bio-dome provides the perfect atmosphere for music, dance and drama.

Designers envisioned the plaza as a community gathering space. There also is a roof-top garden, along with a private dining room and bar overlooking the Avenue of the Arts.

   The main venues, Verizon Hall, the new 2,500-seat home of The Philadelphia Orchestra, and Perelman Theater, a 650-seat flexible recital hall, as well as an indoor plaza, are housed under a glass-and-steel barrel-vaulted roof encompassing a full city block.
   Originally, The Philadelphia Orchestra was looking for a new concert hall, custom-built for them. Gradually, the concept evolved into an elaborate civic space, according to project director George Shaeffer, brought in to oversee construction in 1987.
   "(The Philadelphia Orchestra) was unsuccessful in raising enough funds to build a concert hall, and the project lay dormant for a while," he says. "When (former Philadelphia mayor) Ed Rendell came in, he had a much broader vision of the Avenue of the Arts than what the orchestra was trying to achieve. When that vision changed dramatically, all of a sudden the bar was lifted about as high as we could reach."
   From street level, the brick-and-glass structure blends well with the neighboring buildings of Philadelphia brick. Architect Rafael Vinoly, trained as a classical musician during his youth in Uruguay, envisioned a nurturing environment for the arts under a magnificent glass dome more than 150 feet high. The 450,000-square-foot center is enclosed by 3.6 acres of glass.
   Computer-generated images still visible on the office walls and in brochures show a series of steps in the plaza, but this changed in the final design. At the last minute, cement trucks at the ready, Mr. Vinoly decided to replace the steps with gentle ramps to fully accommodate everyone.
   The public entrances on Broad and Spruce streets both open to Commonwealth Plaza, named in honor of the largest donor to the project, the people of Pennsylvania, according to Mr. Shaeffer. The project cost $265 million, which includes $170 million in construction costs and a $10 million endowment.
   "We’ve always envisioned not only a performance space," he says, "but a civic space. Everybody has a piece of the project."
   Designers envisioned the plaza as a community gathering space. There also is a roof-top garden, along with a private dining room and bar overlooking the Avenue of the Arts.
   During construction, the glass canopy over the Broad Street entrance was adapted to become an outdoor eating space for the restaurant located on the second floor of the Kimmel Center.
   "Our sidewalk café is actually 30 feet above the sidewalk," Mr. Shaeffer says.
   Everything to ensure a visit is comfortable and rewarding has been considered, from parking — 135 spots underground for major donors and 660 spaces at Spruce and 15th streets for everyone else — to wheelchair-accessible bathrooms on the first floor.

Verizon Hall is 25,000 feet of cherry-stained mahogany following the contours of a cello.

   Slowly, the structure has come to life. The Philadelphia Orchestra held its first practice in the still-unfinished center Dec. 6.
   Elkins Park resident David Tilman, Beth Sholom Congregation cantor and a classical music critic for the Jewish Exponent, attended the event.
   "They’re so used to the other building where they have to play with all this intensity," says Cantor Tilman, referring to the orchestra’s former home, The Academy of Music, built in 1857. "They started playing that way and the sound, they almost sounded like a subwoofer in a home theater system was turned up too loud. The bottom end was so heavy. It was just a very overwhelming heavy end, my sense was that they were so loud that they then backed off."
   Russell Johnson of Room Acoustics has designed perfect acoustics for the hall.
   "Trust me, there are no flat floors in this room," Mr. Shaeffer says. "There are no straight walls in this room."
   In addition, there are controllable adjustment chambers on either side of the audience. Computer-operated doors open to these chambers to alter the acoustics for different music.
   "Rafael always envisioned this room as a wooden instrument with 105 smaller instruments playing inside," Mr. Shaeffer says.
   Most halls are shoe-boxed, or modified shoe-boxed shaped. Verizon Hall is 25,000 feet of cherry-stained mahogany following the contours of a cello.
   The design is all an effort to provide a precise sound. Even the pipes for the impressive pipe organ stand as a reminder that funding is not complete. There isn’t enough money yet to install the organ to go with the pipes. Workers must still hang drywall, buff floors, paint and install chairs in Verizon Hall and the versatile Perelman Theater.
   Perelman will house a turntable providing a concert shell for recitals, choral concerts and chamber orchestras. In an alternate configuration for dance and drama, the stage offers a 38-by-58 foot stage area with extensive fly space above. The main seating area can be converted to floor space for cabaret, or even weddings and parties.
   Opening Day on Dec. 16 offers free live entertainment, displays and activities. The celebration continues through December with an array of performances.
   Most of all, the Kimmel Center is a worthy home for The Philadelphia Orchestra. After all the work and all the worries, Mr. Shaeffer felt validation after the first notes filled the great space during rehearsal.
   "It was worth the wait to hear that," he says.
The Kimmel Center Performs — An Artistic Open House will take place
on Avenue of the Arts, Broad and Locust streets, Philadelphia, Dec. 16, 10
a.m. Ribbon-cutting at 11 a.m., followed by free events until the 3:30 p.m.
finale. Free admission. For information, call (215) 893-1999. On the Web: www.kimmelcenter.org