Ramping Up Theatre
Design Studio
University of Michigan | Taubman College of Architecture
Fall 2019
Located in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago, this project proposes the addition of a theatre to an existing building. The site is comprised of an existing five story building for the Chicago Art Department and an adjacent vacant lot. This intervention proposes a renovation to the interior of the existing building which connects to a radical addition on the adjacent lot.
The proposal consists of two performance spaces - a black box theatre that is elevated on slanted columns in the adjacent lot and a large and flexible double height concert space in the existing building on the second floor. The two forms are connected with a core space that serves as a service space to both performance spaces. The black box theatre is wrapped with a ramp to emphasize the performance of theatre going. The angular form of the ramp mass allows for the ramp to have adjacent public spaces while the theatre goers circulate up to their seats.
