Theatre Design & Technology - Feb 1966 - 3

The University of Illinois Assembly Hall;
Archetype of a Multi-Purpose Building

Thomas P. Parkinson, Director of the Hall
University of Illinois

Richard Southern, in the working poper for a USITT
committee, has charged that ancient words describing the parts of a theatre are often misused. Never
has that been more true than in the case of words
intended to describe various kinds of buildings,
including
arena,
"coli seum," "amphitheatre"
and "stadium." These terms are used interchangeably, although there are many varieties of bui ldings
described by them. Moreover, the structures they
once described have changed whi Ie the words have
not. So today, we have a fine new kind of bui Iding,
with excellent examples throughout the country, and
nothing to call it except a "multi-purpose building".

This multi-purpose sort of building is what the
University of Illinois has in its Assembly Hall. In
most cases the impetus for such bui Idings has
come from the sports community or the music community. In Pittsburgh the Civic Arena was originally
conceived by the light opera group. The University
of Illinois building was originally suggested by
the sports faction. But it takes both to justify
such a building, for it is neither feasible to
bui Id a large structure seating many thousand
people for perhaps a dozen home basketball games,
nor is it any more logical to build a large-capacity
hall for a mere dozen events in a concert series;

February 1966

ABSTRACT: Integration of theatre activities into
large multi-purpose structures has become a practical necessity for cities and universities confronted
by the inability to justify separate structures for
many
widely
divergent
performance functions.
This discussion of one of America's most ambitious and architecturally unique multiform, multipurpose structures is written from the viewpoint of
Its present director. I. R. CODE: (MULTI-PUR POSE /
STRUCTURE / UNIVERSITY / LARGE-SCALE
ASSEMBLY).
nor does it make ony sense to have a bui Iding with
even greater capacity for the relatively few convocations and other formal sessions which a university
itself might present. But combine all these functions into one building and add such things as ice
shows, conventions and other presentations, and
the whole program begins to make sense. That is
the Assembly Hall story at Illinois.
To combine means to compromise. So we don't have
a perfect ice rink, or a perfect exhibit hall, or a
perfect basketball palace. Nor do we in any considerable sense have a Viennese opera house or a
perfect jewel-box of a legitimate theatre. We do
have something of each--a true and tried multipurpose building.
Our architectural firm was Harrison and Abramovitz,
which designed the U. N. Bui Iding and more recently
has done the Philharmonic Hall and Metropolitan
Opera buildings at Lincoln Center. Our building is
con structed enti re Iy of poured con crete; and its
dome, with a diameter of 400 feet, is the largest of
its kind. There are no interior pillars or posts. The
roof is poured in place in a folded plate design
averaging 371" in thickness, to which was added an
interior lining of Insulrock which improves thermal,
and, particularly, acoustical qualities. At the edge
beam where the dome and seat bowl meet, the

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