San Diego, California, USA
Soundforms and its London partner Flanagan Lawrence worked closely with Greg Mueller of Tucker Sadler Architects, lead designer, and architect of record of The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park, which has led a team of designers and consultants in the creation of this new state-of-the-art venue.
Sited in Jacobs Park by San Diego Bay, the performance shell is designed to accommodate a large orchestra with chorus and soloists.
The shell is the central element of the larger venue complex designed by Tucker Sadler Architects, which includes backstage artist support spaces, three kitchens, underground restrooms, and a sloped seating area for up to 10,000.
Intended to host more than 100 concerts and events year-round, The Rady Shell is the centerpiece of the 3.7-acre public Jacobs Park on the city’s scenic Embarcadero. The venue is an unprecedented resource for the Symphony’s diverse schedule of outdoor classical concerts programmed by Music Director Rafael Payare, and a variety of other musical and cultural programs.
Sited in Jacobs Park by San Diego Bay, the performance shell is the first permanent outdoor home of the San Diego Symphony designed to accommodate a large orchestra with chorus and soloists.
Berkeley-based Meyer Sound designed the signature Constellation System, used here in its first outdoor installation, which creates an onstage acoustic equivalent to the high standard of indoor concert halls.
San Francisco-based firm, Salter, designed the acoustic and sound engineering and audiovisual
components. The combination of the shell design with Salter’s acoustic paneling, the Meyer Constellation system, and the custom-designed L-Acoustic surround reinforcement system, has created the best possible acoustic experience for performers, which translates across a wide range of musical genres into an extraordinary sonic experience for audiences.
Another key partner in creating the performance shell is the Australia-based company Fabritecture, which developed and oversaw the technical design, fabrication and installation of the tensile structure of the performance shell, as well as the backstage support spaces, executive kitchen, the box office, and two dining pavilions.
Two further design partners are HLB, responsible for the architectural lighting design, and Schuler Shook, designers of the theater lighting and rigging.
‘We are thrilled to see our shell finally realized in this remarkable setting,‘ states Jason Flanagan, partner at Flanagan Lawrence and co-founder of Soundforms.
‘But we’re even more excited that the shell’s acoustics – for both orchestra and audience – is as superb as we intended. The Rady Shell achieves our core objective – to bring world-class acoustics to outdoor performances.’
‘Itʼs an amazing, spectacular outdoor venue‘, states Rafael Payare, music director and conductor of the San Diego Symphony.
‘We can hear each other wonderfully and you feel like you are in one of the top-notch concert halls in the world. The Shell has a mind-blowing organic quality … you can actually hear all the different sound balances and perform the way you would in a concert hall, not an outdoor venue.’
Project: The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park
Architects: Soundforms (Flanagan Lawrence, Expedion, ES Global)
Architects of Record: Tucker Sadler Architects
Project Manager: Gardiner & Theobald
Landscape Architects: Burton Studio
Acoustic Consultants: Salter
Audio/Sound Consultants: Shawn Murphy
General Contractor: Rudolph and Sletten
Client: San Diego Symphony
