The Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center

Location
Troy, New York

Owner
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Team
Acoustics - Carl Giegold, Senior Consultant at Kirkegaard
Architect - Grimshaw
Theatre Consultant - Fisher Dachs Associates

Size
220,000 square feet
1,200-seat concert hall
400-seat theatre

Schedule
Completed 2008

This four-venue project explores the creative possibilities at the interfaces between technology and live performance. Production studio spaces for artists-in-residence and audio and video production rooms suitable for multi-channel mix-down are the facility’s heart, but each of the venues is a mixing lab unto itself.

The 1,200-seat concert hall is superb for orchestra and overwhelmingly amplified sound. Dance and motion-with-video are emphasized in the intimate 400-seat Theater which is optimized for amplified sound and immersive video.

Two large studio spaces are treated with specially developed diffusion to defeat specular reflections while maintaining a live environment inspired by the acoustics of a forest clearing. Both are fitted with sufficient retractable absorption to make them effectively anechoic. Isolation between the venues is extraordinary - separate foundations and spring supports keep the peace.

New finishes developed for the project include the specialized glass fiber reinforced gypsum panels for the studios and an acoustically semi-transparent fabric ceiling for the Concert Hall.