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THEATRE AT BOSTON COURT
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA
The Theatre at Boston Court was constructed at the request of the owner, Clark Branson, who has been active in the arts throughout his career and wished to provide a venue to allow for the exploration and celebration of new and classical works of drama and music for the cultural enrichment of not just Pasadena, but for all of Southern California.
This one-story, 12,000 square-foot performing arts building consists of a 99-seat equity waiver theatre and a 66-seat recital hall, which is convertible with moving platforms to a flat floor rehearsal hall. The structure has a state of the art tension grid for flexible lighting positions and a surround technical gallery and traps in a strong thrust state that allow actors to enter and exit from below. The structure and mechanical equipment is left exposed throughout the building for both acoustical and aesthetic reasons.
The building was designed to celebrate the joy of performance and uses concrete masonry block throughout the exterior as both the bearing wall and finish. Six-inch one color block was used to match the surrounding buildings and to emphasize the drama of the geometric forms.
Concrete masonry block forms the major structure bearing walls on the interior as well. The concrete masonry block is left exposed on the interior, where it serves the duel function of supporting the building and by providing the necessary acoustical isolation between the two venues, as well as the neighboring property to the south. The unusual corbel design on the north wall of the theatre prevents the parallel walls from creating overlapping sound waves and sound distortion. The concave catenary curve of the roof for both the theatre and rehearsal hall disburse the sound waves. The lobby uses masonry piers between large glazed openings so the nighttime events of the theatre are easily visible from the street.
ARCHITECT:
John Sergio Fisher & Associates, Inc.
5567
Reseda Blvd., Suite 209
Reseda, CA 91356
John
Fisher, AIA
Principal & Designer Architect
Matt
Fischer
Theatre Consultant
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER:
Joseph
Li and Associates
Structural Engineer
OWNER:
Clark Branson
