Theatre Design & Technology - Feb 1966 - 10

32 feet. There are two book-fold cei ling secti on s to
complete the acoustical shell. It will accommodate
orchestras of more than 100 musicians t and its
results have been termed highly satisfactory by
the conductors of the Vienna and Philadelphia
orchestras t the Robert Shaw Chorale t and other
organizations.
The Assembly Hall installation crew assembles the
full-size stage in about three hours t installs the
full set of theatre curtains in about one hourt and
can erect the acoustical shell in three to four hours.
This means that the building may be converted
readi Iy from arena to theatre or back again during
a night t and that quite different types of presentations may be made in successive days.
The sound system makes use of four speakers
mounted high in the dome and facing north, east,
south and west. There are additional small speakers
aimed at the center of the floor so that persons on
stage may hear. For some types of presentation
in the theatre quadrant the west speaker is used
for full amplification. For certain others it is used
to give a very slight "bump" or reinforcement to
live sound. Operated properlYt the sound may be
reinforced or presented Iive t and the audience is
unable to tell which system is in use.

DOES IT WORK? The big question about a multipurpose building is: Does it work? We answer with
a strong "Yes." One chore here is to convince
artists that this is really so. As they first enter
the building they are awed by its overall size, and
we must convince them that one working from the
stage to the theatre quadrant is not faced by a
very difficult visual or acoustical problem. Any
4000-seat area requires distance and space. But
in ours, the juxtaposition of stage and seats is
such that performers and audience feel they are in
contact with one another. There is rapport. At that
time neither is aware of the additional parts of the
bui Iding. In addition t the actual dimensions make
them far less remote and give them a closer feeling
than is experienced in most horseshoe-shaped
municipal auditoriums. It has been pointed out
that persons seated in the second tier and even
part of the third are no farther from the stage than
in the rear seats or balconies of principle Broadway
th eatre s.

BASIC THEATRE DATA
As sembly Hall
University of Illinois
Champaign, Illinois
Architect:

Harrison and Abramovitz

Theatre and Lighting Participants:
Consultants, Lighting by Feder
Lighting Consultant, Feder
Acoustical Consultants, Bolt, Berenek and Newman
Gridiron patent origins, George Izenaur
Rigging Construction, J. R. Clancy Co.
Curtains: Peter Albrecht Company
Fabrics: Dazian
Sight Lines: Ben Schlanger
Planning Initiated 1958; construction completed 1963
Total Cost: S8,350,000, including movable equipment, parking
lots, landscaping, ~ cetera.
Space facilities:
Circular arena with theatre gridiron at center, giving
capability
of working
to reduced
seating capacities.
Dome is 400 feet in diameter.
Principal Arrang~ments:

Arena, permanent seats, 16,000 capacity.
Arena, plus portable choirs, 17,500 capacity.
Open stage and backdrop, 7,700 capacity
Proscenium, with acoustical shell, 4,200 capacity.
Proscenium, with scenery, 3,636 capacity
Structural Engineers: Ammon and Whitney
Mechanical Engineers: Syska and Hennessy
Electronic gridiron with 32 sets of lines.
Demountable stage, 8 x 8 up to 48 x 88 feet, with optional
risers, apron, orchestro pit, etc.
High-fidelity sound reinforcing system.
Duplicate lighting boards, preset options, dual purpose"light
battens, follow spots, quartz front lights and specials.
Shop,
green
room,
1 very large dressing room, three dressing
rooms for about 15 persons each, 11 dressing rooms for
principals. TV studio, meeting rooms, press rooms, catering
kitchen, box offices inside and outside with total of 16
windows.

Photo: University of Illinois

We have been asked by more than 40 delegations
from colleges, universities and cities, including
the University of Michigan t Alabama t Notre Dame,
Salt Lake City, the Arizona State Fair, the Air
Force AcademYt and the Montreal World's Fair
about operation and construction of our bui Iding,
since they
are planning simi lar multi-purpose
bui Idings. We feel that ours works t and works
successfully. We recommend such a structure to the
many prospective bui Iders.

I OSITT

THEAIRE DESIGN AND rrCHNOLlXlY

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Feb 1966