Performing Arts Center Projects

An Open-air Pavilion by Studio Gang Serves as the New Home of Hudson Valley Shakespeare

Thu, 14 May 2026 12:30:04 -0400

The seasonal New York theater troupe's permanent new venue is a prefabricated laminated-timber structure perched high above the Hudson River.

Michael Maltzan’s RIT Performing Arts Center Adds a Cool Metal to a Staid Campus Palette

Fri, 01 May 2026 00:00:00 -0400

Wrapped in aluminum panels, the multiuse performance space is both a first for New York's Rochester Institute of Technology and for the Los Angeles–based architect.

San Francisco’s Historic Castro Theatre Reopens Following Extensive Renovation

Tue, 17 Feb 2026 00:00:54 -0500

CAW Architects and Page & Turnbull led the two-year conversion of the ornate 1922 movie palace into a 21st-century performance space.

Snøhetta Adds a Sinuous Structure to a Century-Old Symphony Hall in St. Louis

Tue, 03 Feb 2026 00:10:28 -0500

The cramped but acoustically blessed Powell Hall, home to the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, celebrates its centennial with a grand new lobby and back-of-house extension.

2025 Architectural Record Awards Winner: Alice Dodge Wallace ’38 Center for the Performing Arts

Tue, 18 Nov 2025 00:25:02 -0500

Learn more about the awardee in the Performance Spaces category by Annum Architects.

The Hopkins Center, Dartmouth’s Wallace Harrison–Designed Arts Hub, Reopens after Transformative Revamp

Tue, 28 Oct 2025 08:02:51 -0400

Snøhetta’s renovation and expansion of the regional performing arts center adds new theater venues and rehearsal spaces while preserving the 1962 building’s mid-century appeal.

From the RECORD Archives: ‘Campus Center Designed to Provide Creative Arts Context for Social Activities’

Tue, 28 Oct 2025 08:02:42 -0400

A short December 1964 survey of the Hopkins Center at Dartmouth College—recently reimagined by Snøhetta—refers to the building as a ‘valuable prototype for new campus fine arts centers being planned elsewhere in the country.’

Milwaukee Repertory Theater Debuts Expansion and Renovation Project by EUA

jim@jamesgauer.com (James Gauer) — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 00:00:00 -0400

The $80 million capital project deftly upgrades and weaves together the rep’s existing buildings, including a repurposed neoclassical power station that houses the main performance venue.

BIG’s Wildflower Studios Brings Film Production Space—and Visual Interest—to an Industrial Corner of Queens

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 00:07:00 -0400

In addition to sprawling stacked soundstages, the brawny studio complex in Astoria features a promenade along Luyster Creek.

October 2025 Editor’s Letter

Fri, 03 Oct 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Architecture is a discipline conceived in three dimensions. The fourth—time—is not often talked about, but its passage can dramatically alter how a space is perceived and used.

Arts & Culture Projects 2025

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 00:43:08 -0400

For October, RECORD visits a varied mix of projects that serve as cultural anchors in their respective communities, spanning from New Zealand to Kazakhstan to Astoria, Queens.

Asif Khan Adapts a Soviet Cineplex as an Arts Hub in Almaty

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 00:09:00 -0400

An undulant screen of vertical fins greets visitors of the new Tselinny Center of Contemporary Culture—the first private institution of its kind in Kazakhstan.

From the RECORD Archives: ‘The Juilliard School’

Fri, 08 Aug 2025 09:14:32 -0400

In this 1970 review, editor Mildred Schmertz praises Juilliard architect Pietro Belluschi’s ingenuity in navigating functional demands and engineering constraints.

Andrea Steele Architecture Inserts a Cultural Hub into the Podium of a Downtown Brooklyn Tower

Wed, 06 Aug 2025 08:22:10 -0400

The long-awaited L10 Arts and Cultural Center provides new space for multiple organizations across three floors.

KPMB Maximizes a Narrow Site to Add State-of-the-Art Facilities to a Storied Toronto Concert Hall

Tue, 05 Aug 2025 01:43:05 -0400

With its curtainlike facade, the seven-story Allied Music Centre provides vital back-of-house functions for the restored Massey Music Hall.

A New Dance Venue Rises on the Site of a Theater Fire at Jacob’s Pillow in the Berkshires

Mon, 04 Aug 2025 00:00:00 -0400

With the aid of Mecanoo and Marvel, the famed New England dance center debuts a bigger and better Doris Duke Theatre nearly five years after its predecessor was destroyed.

Snapshot: MASS Design Group Transforms an Abandoned Hudson Valley Cistern Into an Underground Arts Venue

Thu, 20 Feb 2025 00:00:16 -0500

A 1923 water tank in Poughkeepsie emerges as a unique and naturally climate-controlled cultural destination.

At MIT, SANAA Shapes a Music Building Among Midcentury Icons with Respectful Irreverence

Fri, 10 Jan 2025 00:01:00 -0500

The Edward and Joyce Linde Music Building marks a departure from the firm’s signature style while creating a dialogue with the buildings surrounding it.

3SIX0 Gives a Providence Nonprofit a New Home—and Brings Mass Timber to Rhode Island

Thu, 19 Dec 2024 00:06:26 -0500

Anchored by a 120-seat performance hall, the firm’s Community MusicWorks Center showcases cross-laminated timber while taking all-important acoustics into consideration.

In Brescia, Italy, a New Theater by Botticini + Facchinelli ARW Enlivens a Former Factory District

Wed, 04 Dec 2024 00:20:04 -0500

Camillo Botticini brings a refined performance venue to his industrial hometown under a tight budget.

Arts & Culture Projects 2024

Mon, 02 Dec 2024 00:10:00 -0500

These tricky commissions tackle deep-rooted histories, cultural divides, and complex sites.

In San Diego, HGA and Akustics Revive a Historic Theater as a World-Class Symphony Hall

Mon, 07 Oct 2024 00:29:39 -0400

The $125 million renovation of the Jacobs Music Center transformed a 1929 building into a word-class concert hall, harmonizing historic charm with modern acoustic needs.

The Geode, a New Outdoor Performance Space, Debuts at Tippet Rise

goncharj@bnpmedia.com (Joann Gonchar, FAIA) — Tue, 10 Sep 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Designed by Arup, the intimate and elemental acoustical shelter is among the latest additions to the visual arts and music center in Montana.

Rockwell Group Gives a Private Club's Basement Theater a Makeover

goncharj@bnpmedia.com (Joann Gonchar, FAIA) — Wed, 14 Aug 2024 00:00:00 -0400

The firm returns to NeueHouse to rethink its below-grade cinema space.

Höweler + Yoon Aims for Box Office Gold with an Ambitious Expansion to a Boston-area Landmark

Wed, 07 Feb 2024 00:45:11 -0500

Packed with film references, the Coolidge Corner Theatre's addition primes the nonprofit art house cinema for its next century of operation.

Outside of Paris, Dominique Coulon & Associés Infuses a Performing Arts School with Bold Color and Natural Light

Wed, 20 Dec 2023 10:40:03 -0500

The new Forum des Arts Charles Aznavour in Montigny-le-Bretonneux combines dance, music, and theater in a compact 36,000-square-foot building.

Snapshot: A Second Renovation for a Church-Turned-Concert Hall Emphasizes Its Original Form

Wed, 13 Dec 2023 08:27:31 -0500

Using a limited palette of materials and colors, Czech firm A8000 returns the South Bohemian Philharmonic to the 17th-century spiritual building's original simplicity.

Guess the Architect: December 2023

Fri, 01 Dec 2023 06:13:52 -0500

This theater, completed just after the end of WWI in a European capital city, was initially derided as a failure by critics.

Arts & Culture Projects 2023

Fri, 01 Dec 2023 00:10:00 -0500

Fresh perspectives augment this year's array of cultural projects, which range from intimate to monumental.

OMA's Cultural Center in Manchester Accommodates the City's Industrial Past and Burgeoning Future

Fri, 01 Dec 2023 00:08:00 -0500

Aviva Studios offers year-round flexible programming space and a permanent home for the biennial Manchester International Festival.