The program statement for this project began:

”The mission of the Center is to NURTURE excellence and innovation in the performing arts through education and presentation.”

This mission statement was taken as motivation for the project’s architectural form. The idea of nurturing inspired the form of the theater and the arrangement of the supporting buildings. The transparent egg-like structure embraces and reveals the activities that occur within its walls, seeking to engage the community through dynamic and expressive form.

Upon entering this theater, one ascends a long, curving ramp which frames a panoramic view over the Tennessee River. Simultaneously, views of the theater from the nearby pedestrian bridge and the aquarium block advertise the center’s presence to the community. The interior theater walls are a series of rotating, removable panels, which allow the entire theater to be manipulated. All of the panels can be removed, exposing the structure from all perspectives within the theater and displaying the activities inside the theater to exterior observers.

The supporting functions are placed in minimal but elegant pavilions and play a submissive role. Their placement allows the site to be permeable, inviting the community to explore and penetrate the facility.

ARCH 372, Spring 2003, Professor Thomas A. Kamm
team project with Jessica Birnbaum