Oslo, Norway
“We can say that the expansion is very respectful, both architecturally as well as just in size and scale. The challenge is really to improve it where we can without changing it drastically and really treating it very respectfully,” states Snøhetta project manager Takeshi Tornier.
Snøhetta together with the local design practice Christner Architects will lead the expansion and revival of Powell Hall, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra’s historic performance space, which is scheduled for completion in 2025 just before the Symphony’s centennial celebrations.
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra’s Organization has embarked on an ambitious 65,000-square-foot expansion of Powell Hall with Snøhetta as design architect and landscape architect.
The project will allow the concert hall to be more fully accessible and open to the community, creating a facility that supports and nurtures the creative process from idea to performance.
New public spaces will work in concert with a new lobby and back-of-house expansion to provide universal accessibility to the public as well as educational facilities and improved musician and back-stage spaces that enhance overall community use of the concert hall.
The new entry is shaped as a series of canted shells assembled from raked masonry, creating a front-of-house addition defined by simple inclined surfaces and arched openings inspired by the musical nature of the historic building and its program.
Inside, a suite of new gathering areas situated within a triple-height space will include terraces that overlook one another, allowing visitors to both see and be seen while attending performances.
Snøhetta is designing also a new public plaza at the corner of Grand Boulevard and Samuel Shepard Drive that brings the activities of the concert hall outside.
Replacing an existing parking lot, the plaza will provide a place for patrons to gather before and after performances, offering a platform for Grand Center where impromptu displays, informal gatherings, and other collective activities can augment the creative energy exuded by the concert hall.
In other areas of the site, ample circulation and arrival zones will move people quickly to their destinations while also creating spaces that can be used as flexible programmed spaces if the symphony desires.
Multiple routes in and through the site will provide accessible pathways to patrons arriving from multiple directions, and planting groves will frame the entries, extending a sense of welcome and human-scaled experience that will greet visitors upon arrival.
The back-of-house expansion along the eastern side of Powell Hall will bring new spaces for community events, educational programs, lectures, digital programming, and other collaborations while also serving as a hub for innovation across artistic disciplines.
The expansion will also create new rehearsal spaces for SLSO ensembles, modernized and expanded backstage spaces, new media and recording suites, new dressing rooms, and new storage areas for musician and guest artist use.
Project: St. Louis Symphony Orchestra Expansion
Architects: Snøhetta AS
Architect of Record: Christner Architects
Theatre Planning Consultant: Schuler Shook
Acoustics, Noise, and Vibration Control Consultant: Kirkegaard
Construction Manager: BSI Constructors
