REX | OMA - Wyly Theater
Joshua Prince-Ramus and his firm, REX, (Previously OMA-NewYork) designed the Dee and Charles Wyly Theater in Dallas, Texas with the idea that “Architecture must do things again, rather than represent things.” He delivers a TED talk where he discusses the powerless role of the architect and presents the Wyly Theater as a product of Architectural agency that may revive the power of the Architect today.
Photos by Iwan Baan
4 comments:
What "things" make this "A"rchitecture a good "represent"ative for us to follow?
I appreciate the moving parts as a technique for producing flexible space and dramatically reducing labor costs in theatre seating reconfiguration.. But I wonder if they were designing too much for the client/facility and not enough for the people [who activate and experience the space].
Joshua Prince-Ramus speaks the truth...the Architects role is diminishing but to go along with Stephen's comment, it seems as though they have spent a lot of energy re-thinking the stage element. Meanwhile, the descending entrance ramp has been nothing unkind to visitors (so I read).
Again like Stephen said, the people should activate the space and not the other way around. I commend REX for approaching this idea of flexibility but sometimes I think to myself that there could've just been an easier way.
It is obvious here that much effort was put into designing the infrastructure of the entire arena so as to accommodate a variety of functions within one space. That's not to say the "people" weren't considered, esp when they're the ones funding the life-cycle of the facility. In a theater like this, the patrons aren't supposed to be affected by the Architecture as much as they are the event they're viewing so alot happens "behind the scenes" to allow for a more seamless experience for the patron.
The event that occurs in the theater space is only part of the experience for the user though. Some more effort could have gone into the approach and departure of the actual event space. If the purpose or effort was to fade the "Architecture" out before people engaged the theater space; I think they failed to do that.
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