Los Angeles-based Darin Johnstone Architects has offered an inside look at their recently-completed renovation of the Ahmanson Auditorium. Located on the ArtCenter College of Design’s Hillside campus in Pasadena, the 3,300-square-foot auditorium saw upgrades to its lobby, main theater, and projection room.
Upon entering the venue, the upgraded lobby deploys simple design elements such as an historic existing feature steel stair and an original Keith Haring mural to “create a threshold” from the wider campus. Elsewhere, the 214-seat auditorium has been upgraded to achieve full ADA accessibility while sound and light components have been used as a catalyst to create a contemporary atmosphere.
The side walls of the auditorium are lined with over five thousand color gradient sound-absorbing “dots.” The “dot walls” transition from orange to black as one moves through the auditorium, combining with a constellation of house lights above to “create a more ephemeral experience in dialogue with the linear modernist language of the building.”
The achieve full ADA compliance in the auditorium and projection room, a new auditorium house floor was constructed to float above the existing floor. ADA seating is positioned at the front of the house and the cross-aisle, while the upper tier is stacked to optimize viewing angles. The projection room, previously not ADA compliant, is now accessible by lift, and combines with ADA considerations in the auditorium to create “an ideal environment to help teach and inspire the next generation of filmmakers.”
“The design of the new Ahmanson Auditorium aligns with contemporary notions of procession, access, sound, and vision to significantly enhance its screening capabilities for future generations of filmmakers as well as address a range of educational functions like lectures, direct instruction, and symposia,” the design team said about the scheme.
3 Comments
that stair is a protruding object, right? is there a barrier to keep people out of the area under the stair less than 80" clear? just an observation since a lot of the focus on this project was with accessibility.
It does say that only the auditorium and projection room are fully compliant. I am having difficulty understanding how this is an expression of an ephemeral experience.
They'll install after the photos, it's fairly typical.
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