Work/Minnesota Orchestra Redesign
Architecture|Speculative

Minnesota Orchestra Redesign

Illinois Institute of Technology|Minneapolis, Minnesota|2007
A programmable media skin and an expanded civic landscape reconnect Orchestra Hall with Peavey Plaza and make performance visible in public space.

I developed this individual academic proposal to reconnect Minnesota Orchestra Hall with Peavey Plaza and make the building's public life more visible. The existing brick volume remained, but the dated lobby was removed and its program redistributed into an expanded landscape of ramps, terraces, ticketing, gathering, education, retail, and performance space.

The project is organized around three direct goals: integrate the hall, lobby, and plaza; activate both the building and public space; and clarify circulation. The alternating planes of Peavey Plaza extend through a new transparent base, allowing the lobby to become part of the civic landscape rather than an enclosure placed in front of the hall.

A translucent LED skin wraps the original performance volume and allows it to move between quiet, pre-show illumination, promotion, visualized sound, and live performance. The facade does not simply advertise the orchestra. It turns sound and activity inside the hall into a changing public presence across the plaza.

Academic Context
Individual student project at the Illinois Institute of Technology, 2007. No collaborators or instructor are identified in the current project source.
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Minnesota Orchestra Hall media facade above Peavey Plaza
Activated orchestra hall and plaza
Project goals, existing conditions, and design response
Existing conditions and design response
Aerial site model connecting Orchestra Hall with Peavey Plaza
Site layout
Quiet, pre-show, promotion, sound, and performance facade studies
Programmable LED media skin
Plan identifying lobby, circulation, cafe, education, retail, and plaza programs
Program plan
Redesigned Peavey Plaza with planted planes, water, and seating
Peavey Plaza landscape
Sound waveform displayed across the hall above the public plaza
Facade and plaza relationship