Aggrandized Procession

An Opera House

In Collaboration with Kelsey Hollington (Pope)

Extracting a "Night at the Opera"

The experience of going to the opera is much more than the show itself. For centuries the event has meant an evening, or a night out to be seen by all, discuss the show and celebrate. The intent here was to put as much importance into the spaces that facilitate these experiences as the opera hall itself, but with that comes more contemporary concerns. It was not only enough to expand the opera hall, but today such a grand structure can serve a city all year long. With this in mind, the design fragments its three parts, the "front of house, opera hall, and back of house", so that they may be accentuated and reconnected. Then, for the sake of architecture and experimentation, the experience and function is redefined, exaggerated, and reorganized. 

To pair with the aggrandized procession was the notion of thermal comfort. With inspiration from Philippe Rahm, the breakdown of a procession and series of exaggerated spaces, as well as segmenting the site, was to be informed thermally. This effected the organization in some ways and material strategies.