West 8 has created a wonderful compliment to the design of
the New World Symphony by Frank Ghery.
Aside from the aesthetic move of spilling Ghery’s signature forms onto
the landscape, there is careful control of the way the space enriches public
life. The space truly comes alive
when people come from all around to enjoy a free evening performance. Though it is a matter of personal
preference whether you wish to enjoy a symphony performance inside the concert hall
or informally outside, I do see many advantages to engaging the urban landscape
for the viewing of any performance.
Firstly,
the open space allows for flexible seating. People gather in different sized groups and come prepared
with whatever they wish to make themselves comfortable. Through the use of oversized blankets,
lawn chairs, and even picnic baskets filled with dinner, these subtle additions
make the experience more personal and intimate then sitting in upright concert
hall seats. It’s very interesting
to see how each group of people create their own personal space even though
they are sitting just a few feet away from another group.
On
a larger scale, the park cuts its green spaces with bands of concrete forms
that create smaller “bays” of space reminiscent of the sections in a concert
hall. Though these are more
irregular and inconsistent than formal sections, it does give the impression
that the space is smaller and more inhabitable then simply a large open field. In my experience, I saw that some
people preferred to sit on those pieces so they can set down food or drink
without it spilling. The landscape
also slopes up to the center of the park to allow for easier viewing for those
in the back. This again is very
typical for any performance space.
The only gripe I had with the built environment was the effect of the
city government forcing West 8 to add small stone barriers on the raised
concrete seating platforms. It is
understandable that they wished to include these as a deterrent to homeless
people sleeping in the park and other unwanted activity, but it does affect the
flexibility of seating space. I
saw an older couple struggle to sit together between two of the stone dividers
and I couldn’t help but feel pity on their discomfort. It’s one of the design decisions that I
believe did much more harm than good.
Speaking
on the side of technology, the space is complimented by exceptional sound and
crystal clear video. Being that my
experience was with a symphony performance, I was impressed by the sound
engineering as they only utilized the front speakers to mimic the true
experience of only hearing a symphony from the front of the space. I was informed that the other
“surrounding” speakers are utilized in film viewings and performances of other
genres of music. This subtle move
reinforces the proper experience for each performance it hosts. I was further immersed into the music
because the digital video being projected is editable via the utilization of
multiple cameras and angles.
During the symphony performance, as a certain sound or section of the
symphony was going to be highlighted in the song, they would switch the view
from the overall view of the symphony down to a closer view of the specific
instruments. This added another level of immersion than one would experience in
a typical formal performance.
All
in all, the public space is the perfect balance of built form and digital
immersion. All carefully crafted
to give the perfect experience for different events and performances. And even when
no event is scheduled, the wall is still a beautiful display of moving forms of
light and color as public art.
This is bringing culture, brief music education, and music enjoyment to
the general public in a very easy and accessible way, and for me that is the
most beautiful design gesture of all.
1 comment:
Good description of the space. It reads more as a review than an analysis. You say what you think is good or bad, rather than analyzing what effect the design decisions have on people and the city.
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