T L O F I R O O
PERFORMING ARTS CENTERS
A U U B T S O
150+ employees 300+ design awards 57 leed certified projects 1968 established
TVS creates high performance, high impact environments that help individuals, businesses and communities thrive. Our team of experts listens intently, solves creatively and delivers reliably to make remarkable design easy. TVS engages honed perspectives across multiple markets with public, private and institutional clients to deliver design solutions that meet the complex challenges of the 21st century.
Listen. Solve. Deliver.
We listen closely. We work to know your business deeply to see your vision clearly and understand the potential in the work we do together. Listening leads to inspiring conversations, the foundations of remarkable design.
We solve creatively. Achieving your aspirations and meeting your needs require great imagination. We love partnering with you to find solutions that push us to create remarkable design.
We deliver reliably. We know you need to be able to count on a partner that has your back and gets it done. We’re really easy to work with, even on the toughest projects. Trusted relationships make remarkable design possible.
THE ART OF SCIENCE AND SPACE.
Landmark cultural arts projects embrace the diverse ways we engage each other through live performance, meeting, banquet, storytelling, learning, interaction and entertainment. The architecture is required to host a broad menu of experiences for casual guests, family groups and after-hours eventgoers. This need for flexibility reinforces the importance of carefully intertwining open and inviting front-of-house spaces with discreet and efficient back-of-house spaces. We understand this balance is essential to support both an institution’s mission and its often challenging cultural business model. A landmark design is a transformational bespoke solution driven by place and culture, and a functional and flexible community forum for deepening in-person social engagement.
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M Y U A M R
LONGGANG INTERNATIONAL ARTS CENTER
Shenzen | China
The design of the Longgang International Arts Center seeks to express the lyrical beauty inherent in the forms, details, and materials of traditional musical instruments native to China such as the Pipa, xun, and erhu. More importantly, the design encourages the visitors to imaginatively place themselves inside these musical instruments through invoking their hidden interior spaces and the quality of natural light that enters through their diverse sound and finger openings. The world class performing arts venues, a 1,600 seat grand auditorium and a 600 seat auditorium, and are located in a pavilion recalling the body of a pipa adjacent to the hotel complex and Shenzhen Metro subway stop. A third venue, an experimental black box capable of entertaining over 300 patrons for music, dance or lecture events, is housed in freestanding pavilion in the grand event courtyard that evokes the form and materiality of a xun. The goal of uniting the entire experience of arrival in the grand event courtyard and dramatic preshow foyers with the three venues is to provide a continuous immersive experience of entertainment. The performance venues are complimented by a dramatic 2,000 sm multipurpose hall, foyer bars, and a ground level café. World class accommodations for the performers include three rehearsal halls, VIP dressing rooms, and stateof-the-art scenographic rigging and audiovisual mixing. The design strives to establish meaningful connections between Huangjinshan Park and the central event courtyard while the colonnade along Beier Road provides a grand urban façade for visitors.
AREA + ATTRIBUTES
- 1,600 seat grand auditorium
- 600 seat auditorium
- 300 seat experimental black box
- 2,000 sm multipurpose hall
- Foyer bars and ground level cafe
JIO WORLD CENTRE, NITA MUKESH AMBANI CULTURAL CENTRE
Mumbai | India
AREA + ATTRIBUTES
- 2,000 seat Grand Theatre
- 250 seat studio theatre
- 125 seat cube
- 16,000 sf exhibition space
- 192,500 sf
- LEED Platinum
The overall design of the Grand Theatre and all its intricate layers celebrates the luxurious level of craft and design that reflects the richness of color, detail and pattern of India making this a singular world experience.
The Grand Theatre features exquisite jewel-toned Sicis mosaic glass tiles from Italy; customized laser-cut meta jaali screens from Dubai; acoustic micro-perforated walnut wood with the ability to absorb sound from Greece; handrails, door frames and millwork from Muscat; custom-colored fabric from Germany and walnut clad seating from Italy.
The stand-out feature of this world-class hall is the bespoke ceiling. Custom-built in Austria, 17 lotus petals with arabesque perforated pattern studded with 8,400 Swarovski crystals individually programmable and illuminated transform this remarkable ceiling into a theatrical performance element by itself. Its ability to change in color and pattern integrated into theatre events make this unique in the world.
The other two theatres are 250 and 125 seats, are more subtle and subdued than the main theatre but designed with the same warmth in mind. These spaces are the backbone of the center providing special performances of very intimate, small-scale works. All patterns, profiles and detail development of features were created by the design firm.
KNIGHT THEATER
Charlotte | North Carolina
AREA + ATTRIBUTES
- 87,000 sf
- 1,150 seat theater
- 350 seat lecture hall
- Broadcast auditorium
- Fly loft
- Orchestra pit and lift
- Complete back of house
- Catering kitchen
- Broadcast control room
- VIP room
- Under street tunnel to parking structure
This 1,150 seat multipurpose theater is located in the Levine Center for the Arts, an arts district located in downtown Charlotte, North Carolina. This city-owned theater is designed for local art groups such as the North Carolina Dance Company, Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestra, chamber music for the Charlotte Philharmonic Orchestra and other touring shows. The theater is physically connected and shares a prefunction space with the 35,000 sf Bechtler Modern Art Museum, one of three newly developed museums in this art district, all master planned by TVS.
The Knight Theater is part of a large urban cultural and business district development spearheaded by Wachovia Bank and developed by Childress Klein Properties.
ATLANTA CIVIC
CENTER, PERFORMING ARTS CENTER AND EXHIBIT HALL, CONCEPT DESIGN
Atlanta | Georgia
AREA + ATTRIBUTES
- 30,000 sf total (existing and new)
- 2,000 seat theater
- 500 seat theater
- 1,200 seat concert venue
- 300 and 500 seat dinner theater
The project envisions a renovated civic center to celebrate and grow Atlanta and Georgia’s music industry. The arts portion of the master plan include two main pieces - a former exhibit hall transformed into a concert/restaurant/retail venue and an expansion to the performing arts center. The existing column-free exhibit hall building is repositioned to house a 1,600 seat concert venue supported by a destination restaurant and retail storefront. The design takes advantage of the substantial structure of the existing exhibit hall to leverage flexibility for multiple stage configurations. The venue sits adjacent to a large urban pedestrian plaza with access to public transit, retail, restaurants, and other district amenities. Vehicular access is arranged around the plaza and provides for discreet service access.
The renovated and expanded performing arts center is envisioned as discreet glass facade capped with an accessible landscape. The design allows the original, historic center to remain primary and visible from the street. This discreet addition houses a new 500 seat theater and supplements the existing facility with rehearsal, artist, and operational spaces. The attraction is envisioned as a sensitive addition to the west and south of the civic center, one that reinforces the landmark’s relationship to the large public plaza to the north, while providing an iconic street presence along both Piedmont and Ralph McGill.
The team aspires to preserve the entry lobby experience of the civic center, along with the monumental façade facing the plaza. Similarly, the expansion is planned with entrances to the north of the existing grand plaza, and to the south, at the main corner and intersection of Midtown and Downtown Atlanta Districts.
WOODRUFF ARTS CENTER, STUDY
Atlanta | Georgia
Working with Theatre Projects and Talaske (acoustical consultants), TVS developed a fresh new configuration in keeping with the Alliance Theater’s inclusive, community-building philosophy and importance as a social voice in the Atlanta Arts Community.
The redesigned Alliance Theater offers an intimate configuration where patrons can see one another enjoying the theater experience. Warm wood railings, seatbacks and panels create a comfortable and inviting group setting. Architectural lighting washes walls and coordinates with performances to develop a sense of spatial drama. And detailed catwalks and lighting positions express the technical craft of the theater. On the exterior, the project developed a greater street presence for the Alliance Theater through the creation of a new entrance, development of supplementary meeting and performance venues, and the expansion of the Woodruff Arts Center’s shared lobby.
In the Symphony Hall Renovation and Redesign Study, TVS worked with Aurerbach Pollock Friedlander (theater consultant) and Threshold Acoustics (acoustic consultants). The 46-year-old Symphony Hall would be completely transformed through this redesign, which includes dramatically improving the acoustic performance of the hall to serve the needs of the classical symphonic repertoire of the Atlanta Symphonic Orchestra (ASO) and the active, diverse presentations that appeal to younger audiences of the ASO Presents program. In addition to transforming the hall’s acoustic performance and design, this renovation and expansion study also addressed the development of support and rehearsal space. A new glass enclosed wing would allow the public to observe rehearsals in a new rehearsal hall and would provide a meet and greet space for performers and patrons after events.
The addition also highlights the Woodruff Arts Center’s symphonic functions with an enhanced entrance and redesigned lobbies and public spaces.
AREA + ATTRIBUTES
- 185,000 sf
- 1,762 seat symphony hall
- 860 seat drama theater
- 421 seat auditorium
- 375 seat studio theater
- Atlanta College of Art
- Lobby/prefunction
- Gift shop
XIAN CHANBA ECOLOGICAL DISTRICT,
URBAN PLANNING AND CONCEPT DESIGN
Shaanxi | China
The Xian Chanba Ecological Park draws its inspiration from the twin representations in Chinese mythology of the Great Circle for the sky and the square for the earth. The sinuous architectural language of the park and its pavilions are also inspired by the Chinese concepts of unity and flow as they relate to both the river and the graceful movement and ennobling spirit of athletics. The park’s pavilions are arranged in four groups, with commercial mixed-use in the south, unity and flow pavilions in the center and a museum and library district in the north. The central unity and flow pavilions house the broadcast center, theatres, science museum, and youth center. The Xian Chanba Ecological Park envisions a dramatic transformation of the Ba riverfront for the enjoyment of the citizens of Xian and guests of the 2021 China National Games. The park features over 15 kilometers of riverfront jogging, bicycling, sports and recreational activities, boat docks and cafes.
The running course is linked by three pedestrian bridges inspired by the movement of the human body and Tai-Chi Chuan. The Xian Chanba Ecological is divided in to five distinct districts with unique landscape pallets of gardens, trees and estuaries for each district to provide the visitors with an experience of the rich natural history of northern China. The centerpiece of the park features 34 interactive fountains representing each of China’s provinces.
AREA + ATTRIBUTES
- Lot 2: 69,500 sm
- Lot 3: 107,500 sm
- 1,800 seat opera theater
- 1,000 seat theater
- 400 seat multifunction room
- Science museum
- History museum
- Broadcast center
- Library
- Youth activity center
Emery Leonard Principal AIA, LEED AP
eleonard@tvsdesign.com
404 946 6753
With 30 years of experience leading complex projects at every scale, Emery Leonard’s multi-market breadth of work spans live entertainment venues, cultural arts, public assembly, mixed use, office, retail and interiors. He is deeply interested in the economics of the businesses he designs for. From major cultural attractions like museums to bustling convention centers, Emery is invested in what makes these buildings successful. Driven by good urban design, Emery is fascinated by the very big and the very small alike. He understands that each project, regardless of size, is significant and that placemaking is central to the livability and vibrancy of the world’s cities.
