p r o j e c t Bass c l i e n t The
Concert Hall Renovation and Expansion, Austin
University of Texas
a r c h i t e c t Boora
Architects with Coffee Crier Schenck & Hammond
d e s i g n t e a m Tom
Pene, AIA; Stan Boles, FAIA; Amy Donohue, AIA; Bill
Schenk, AIA; Ric Battaglia, AIA; Beverly Moss c o n t r a c t o r Silverton c o n s u l t a n t s Frank
Construction
Lam & Associates (structural); JaffeHolden (audio,
acoustical); Auerbach Pollock Friedlander (theater); Schirmer Engineering (fire, life safety); Talex (MEP); Accessology (ADA); DAVCAR (civil); Baer Engineering & Environmental (environmental); Apex Cost Consultants (cost); Post & Grossbard (food service) p h o t o g r a p h e r s Park
Street; Len Allington
The 3,000-seat Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Concert Hall is the flagship theater of the University of Texas at Austin’s performing arts complex. Originally opened in 1981, the hall boasted an unusually large stage and generous back-of-house areas that effectively accommodated large-scale opera and dance productions. However, following the adoption in 1999 of more stringent campus-wide fire and life safety standards, the university hired Boora Architects of Portland, Oregon, to study remedial options. The architects, teamed with Coffee Crier Schenck & Hammond Architects of Austin, concluded that a new sprinkler system was needed along with architectural changes to provide the required safe egress routes. Further improvements included a new smoke evacuation system and updates to the restrooms to meet state accessibility standards and provide female gender parity. This piecemeal work was estimated to take at least a year to complete and would require the facility to be closed. Faced with the prospect of losing Bass for several seasons, university officials saw the opportunity to upgrade other deficiencies—less critical perhaps to the safety issues but nonetheless significant to providing a more enjoyable experience for patrons and performers alike. According to Texas Performing Arts Technical Director Scott Bussey, the concert hall functioned marginally for Broadway productions and other amplified performances due to its fixed lighting and worn-out sound system. In addition to those technical deficiencies, the Bass was burdened with a lobby that was dark and so small that there was no room for seating. Ultimately, the architects were directed to completely redesign the lobby and the audience chamber. With that broadened scope for the project, the designers were able to replace the nondescript and un-inviting entry with a new front facade. As re-imagined by Boora, Bass Concert Hall finally would be identified as the UT campus’ grandest venue for cultural events. The original Bass Concert Hall, designed by Fisher and Spillman Architects of Dallas, was among a series of heavy-handed buildings designed prior to the adoption of architectural guidelines for the campus. For several decades, without guidelines prescribing an acceptable range of stylistic vocabulary and materials, what prevailed on campus was the trend of the day. And in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Brutalism called for flat roofs, muddy-colored brick, and slit windows. That era’s monoliths were erected along the north and east edges of the original 40-acre campus, one of those being Bass Hall built across the street from Memorial Stadium. However, Cesar Pelli’s campus master plan of 1999 ended the unwelcome trend with a mandated return to the characteristics of the original Mediterranean-
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