| Fitting In |
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| Written by Jonathan Shipley | |
| Nov 06, 2008 |
Wexner Park’s playground is quiet, the Chocolate Octopus Candy Company has completed its last sale and a baseball game at nearby Otterbein College has wrapped up with a three-run ninth — just another quiet evening in New Albany, Ohio. Gleaming in the setting sun is something new to this small town landscape, the Jeanne B. McCoy Community Center for the Arts, a state-of-the-art performance and educational facility offering theatre, dance, music, lectures and more. Rekindling an Era The building’s design harkens back to the end of the Civil War, when New Albany itself was born, with its octagonal plan inspired by the American opera houses of the late 19th century. “We saw the theatre as a traditional form — a clay octagonal form,” states Paul E. Westlake, Jr. of Westlake Reed Leskosky, the architecture firm that created the space. “That may be interpreted as a work created over time, a ‘village of forms’ rather than a completed work that grew in one phase of development. The elements of the composition evoke the Georgian ‘community DNA,’ or community context of style and palette, as well as the local context of the school with one-story white forms and multi-story brick forms.”
Thinking Outside-the-Box “This project would not have been possible without collaboration; no one single entity could have achieved this level of quality,” says New Albany Mayor Nancy Ivers Ferguson. “We are fortunate in our community to have forward-thinking individuals who share vision, understand the benefits of working together and are successful in thinking ‘outside-the-box.’” Westlake Reed Leskosky's design consists of a variety of elements throughout the center that are unique in regard to geometric form, materials and lines. The main octagonal theatre is red brick wrapped in white, while the support spaces and educational wing are clad in white clapboard, creating a residential feel. The lobby provides natural light throughout the day, and at night, becomes a glowing beacon for the community. It’s not a space-age metallic Frank Gehry melting behemoth or a Rem Koolhaas monolith that shadows the town. It was designed to fit in with the community — strengthening and preserving its character — and to serve as a "living room" for the community to gather, celebrate and enjoy performances.
Three Main Goals "We had three main goals in selecting the different types of equipment," says Raymond Kent, associate director of Innovative Technology Design and theatre consultant for the project. "First and foremost, it must be safe and as easy to use as possible since we are working in an educational environment where the users have varying levels of experience with the equipment. Secondly, impact on the overall cost of the project played an important role in selection. Lastly, we looked at providing systems that will work in the foreseeable future." Stage lighting is controlled by a Strand Light Palette Classic computerized stage lighting control console with 8,000 control channels, while additional stage lighting is controlled by a wireless radio remote focus unit. A Strand Light ShowNet Ethernet control system provides data distribution for the various lighting needs of the hall. "The dimming system distributes the lighting control protocol, DMX512, over a structured cable system," Kent notes, "that allows for a more 'plug-and-play' scenario with the sophisticated electronics of today's lighting technology." Vincent Lighting of Cincinnati installed the lighting and wiring.
The level of involvement from a wide variety of stakeholders provided challenges, but also helped the project. "We saw this project as truly noteworthy in the consortium of stakeholders that have brought initiative into being, not only in conception and planning, but also in its future operation and endowments to support creative, high-caliber programming on stage and in the schools,” Westlake says. He hopes that the new center can serve as a model for other groups who share a vision for a community arts center. "For us," he says, "this became an extraordinary challenge and a rewarding experience." Don't get Stage Directions? Click here to subscribe now!
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; "A view of the theatre from the balcony.")
; "The event lobby of the McCoy facility")
; "The post Civil War-era inspired exterior of the Jeanne B. McCoy Community Center for the Arts.")
; "Maplewood walls and light wood accents lend the theatre's interior a honey glow.")
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