BARD COLLEGE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
Annandale-on-Hudson, New York

Photo: Whit Preston

The Bard College Center for the Performing Arts provides a space for dance, drama, opera and music performances. Located on the Bard College campus adjacent to the Hudson River in a beautiful area of tall trees and open lawns, the 105,000 square foot building is sited in a ravine in order to reduce visual impact on the surroundings. The building is adjacent to and will share facilities with the existing Avery Center School of Dance and Drama.

The multi-purpose auditorium features an 85 foot wide by 40 foot deep stage with a full flying system for scenery. A concert shell and fore-stage lift allows conversion for symphonic music performance. The high ceiling and overall shape of the auditorium provides characteristics which will be excellent for all performance types. The auditorium is intended to seat 800 guests in an orchestra section and two balcony sections. By seating guests only in the orchestra section, a feeling of intimacy is provided for smaller student productions intended for audiences of 400-500 guests. Alternately, by placing additional seating on the stage, the capacity of the auditorium can be increased to 1000, providing a space in which the student body and faculty can assemble for lectures or other major events. The auditorium features a wood ceiling and concert shell. The house walls are concrete, providing the mass necessary for excellent acoustical reflections.

The highly sculptural exterior responds to the building's internal organization. A sail-like canopy clad in stainless steel panels projects out over the box office and lobby. The stainless steel panels loosely wrap around the sides of the building toward the proscenium, creating two tall, sky-lit gathering areas on either side of the main lobby. The stainless steel panels then flare out at the proscenium creating a sculptural collar-like shape which rests on the simple concrete and plaster form of the stage house. A number of different exterior materials and finishes were considered for the building. After a lengthy on site review process, a soft, brushed stainless steel was selected for the exterior cladding because of the material's ability to reflect the light and colors of the sky and surrounding forest.