Show landscape Theabout to ' of Utah State performance ah scene undergo a major change In the fall of 2005 there will be a or in dus case the arts recital hall located directly west of the Chase Fine Arts Center And if the tale principal architect Ricardo Dumont is spinning comes true the structure will be moire than just a feather in the university's cap — it will be a crown jewel During an interview on Wednesday Dumont spoke in lofty termsabout the' project His words evoked a cool spring night yith concert goers beckoned by the new hall’s warming light “Ithas to be a beacon to draw people in? Dumont said “Which is one of die things we are doing with the lobby It is constructed of etched and clear glass so that at night when you have events there isa glowing that you head state-of-the-- University history USU Alumnus Kathryn Caine Wanlass and Manon Caine Russell donated $63 million to build the hall It is their wish to create a world-clas- s regional recital hall that will not only benefit die university’s residents but die community as a whole The gift came complete with an aggressive timetable that has Dumont and his associates moving fast “The donors have specifically requested that die building be open in idle fall of 2005” Dumont explained “That is driven in part because Kathryn is 85 years old and she wants to see a performaikx in the hall” Dumont is a partner in the Massachusetts firm Sasaki Associates and has been in architecture for over 50 years He has worked with Utah State art ‘ m : towards” Beyond the beacon will rest the great hall an acoustically tuned auditorium built around a single stage that will musi-ciahopefully welcome world-clas- s and performances “The great hallwill draw people in because it's the largest thing there” he said “But it is sized specifically for the type of music that will be played there Attached — but distinctly isolated from an acoustic standpoint — is the lobby which is basically three sides of glass That’s where openings will be held and events will occur It’s a long axis with' an adjacent plaza and it has been designed so the doors can be thrown openand events can spill out of the lobby into die plaza when die weather is : ’ and the arts people’s statement was ‘high-qualilearning environment' So that led us to great acoustics The recital hall is a manifestation of that because it will be a place where ideas will be heard You’ll be hearing lectures and mission music there Our number-on- e was a teaming mission We asked ‘How best can we fulfill die needs of the stu- dents?’” The designers then looked at the landscape in which the building would exist One of die greatest challenges an architectural firm faces is designing a building that will not only blend with the existing structures and environment but: stand die test of time “Stylistically people tend to go ty K University on and off dating back to George Emert’s administration primarily as a long-terplanning consultant The animated architect said it’s exciting to apply his familiarity with USUV campus to create such a uniquely purposed building “When we design on a campus we look at what types of buildings you find there” he said ‘There are icon or civic buildings that need a presence and then the other buildings are generally collab- native buildings They have to talk to ' their sisters across the way but they don’t have to stand out Housing can be like that Regular academic buildings can be like that Rut an Old Main or a V recital hall or a library should have ' something special about them because they tend to be beacons on campus” In initiating the design process for the hall Dumont said the team first looked at what the university and the donors wanted die building to be from a big- picture perspective ' : - s Ithua WstamnlutuittHitttcUllntrlucmstH m ' held on so great weather Wednesday but the literal earth moving will begin in June on a building that represents the largest private donation in add nfiaa" ns great”A ceremonial groundbreaking — or snow shoveling in light of recent not- - We started with the mission of the institution” he said “The administration j towards being more conservative because they are afraid of not fitting in” Dumont said “We think you have to push the edges when you are in a environment like this So we are responding to the climate and the environment and that helps us form the palette of the building If we’re good about it it should look like itfitsin forever It should look like it grew out of die region not as if it was imported to the tr ' 7:: : r region” The fewer materials you work with the fewer joints arid the more elegant? 400-seat hallasDumont described it building tends to be” he said will be constructed entirely out of only Dumont is wnfi4it that the hall will three materials — concrete glass and not only fit in to the campus but become zinc The final metallic ingredientwill an integral part rtf community life outer uskin” to provide a long-lasti“It’s basically a litde gem for the tlx building that will capture and reflect ' he said building has campus” light and mimic the undulating patterns to have a special flavor because it is a if the mountain range directly behind the place for civic events and from die hall Limiting a structure’s materials : donors’ perspective it must function s goes a long way towards improving : for the To that end the 15000-square-fo- ot ng “This 1 region” great place Dumontsaid 1 ' ' Cache —Jeremy Pugh Magazine edfor |