Miami, FL
The New World Center opened in Miami Beach in January 2011 as the first purpose-built home of the New World Symphony, America's orchestral academy. Frank Gehry designed it in close collaboration with the orchestra's founder, Michael Tilson Thomas, and it was Gehry's first Florida commission. The 756-seat hall is laid out so that no seat sits more than 13 rows from the stage.
Five curved sails, each about 40 by 65 feet, wrap the upper half of the hall. Working with Nagata Acoustics, the design team used the sails to tune the room, sending sound back around the audience with only slight absorption in the high frequencies. The same surfaces serve as screens for fourteen high-definition projectors, which carry commissioned films, lighting, and imagery during concerts.
"
"
Miami Beach • Concert Hall • BASWA Hybrid • Projection Surface
Miami Beach • Concert Hall • BASWA Hybrid • Projection Surface
Miami Beach • Concert Hall • BASWA Hybrid • Projection Surface
Miami Beach • Concert Hall • BASWA Hybrid • Projection Surface
The sails needed a surface that could handle both jobs. Rather than using the rigid BASWA Hybrid panel, a BASWA Certified Installer hand-built the Hybrid materials in layers onto the curved sails and finished them with a spray-applied coat tinted to match China White. The finished texture is a smooth and holds a projected image across the full face of each sail. On opening night, filmmaker Tal Rosner's video played across the sails during the world premiere of Thomas Adès's Polaris. The full 70 mm BASWA Phon Classic Fine system was used in other areas of the building.
Architect:
Gehry Partners
Acoustician:
Nagata Acoustics | Robert F. Mahoney and Associates
"
scroll to next project
