Stanford University, Bing Concert Hall
Bing Concert Hall exemplifies the seamless integration of architecture, acoustics and technology to transform the practice, study and experience of the performing arts.
The design of Bing Concert Hall was imagined from the beginning as a “clearing in the woods” – a place apart, at some remove from the hubbub of the main campus, a place to be discovered, a place to come together.
A beacon above the trees, the concert hall drum draws the eye and establishes the building as an arts anchor and destination, visible from multiple vantage points on campus and the surrounding community.
The site design reinforces the balance between the arcadian arboretum and the ordered axiality of the campus grid. The building is conceived as an organic form, with no straight lines, no formal axes, no symmetries, no front and back; however, it retains the distinctive color and materiality of Stanford’s architecture.
Continuous glass walls surrounding the hall blur the distinction between exterior and interior and open the façade to the exterior colonnades, a contemporary expression of a traditional Stanford typology.
It’s a spectacular venue, and we’re very richly rewarded here; it’s such a gift to the community, to the Stanford students, faculty and community. It’s fantastic; we couldn’t be happier.
The oval-shaped, vineyard-style hall, whose terraced seating sections ring the stage, creates an intimate concert experience for both audience and performer. Large convex-shaped sails circling the hall provide optimal acoustic reflection or absorption and are also designed as screens for video projection.
Details
- Year
- 2013
- Location
- Stanford, CA
- Size
- 114,000 GSF
- Program
- 842-seat Concert Hall, Studio Theater, Garden, Green Room, Dressing Room, Rehearsal Space, Lobby, Office
- LEED Silver Equivalent
Team
- Ennead Design Team
- Richard Olcott, Timothy Hartung, Stephen PD Chu, Steven Peppas, Chris Andreacola, Mahasti Fakourbayat, M. Gregory Clawson, Andrew Sniderman, Gary Anderson, Charmian Place, Andrew Burdick, Jeffrey Geisinger, Aimee St. Germain, Kyo-Young Jin, Jörg Kiesow, Gihong Kim, Lindsay McCullough, Yong Roh, Na Sun, Marcela Villarroel-Trindade, Todd Walbourn, Desiree Wong
- Theater
- Fisher Dachs Associates
- Photography / Videography
- Jeff Goldberg/Esto, Aislinn Weidele/Ennead Architects, 111th Aerial Photography
Awards
- 2013
- Citation, AIA New York State
- Design Award of Excellence, Society of American Registered Architects California Council
- Merit Award, AIA/New York
- Merit Award, Society for College and University Planning / AIA-CAE Excellence in Architecture Awards
- Special Mention, Architizer A+ Awards
Press
- 2014
- Finkel, Jori. "At Stanford University, an Arts District Grows" (New York Times, 11/16/2014)
- 2013
- Madsen, Deane. "Ennead Architects Celebrates Opening of Stanford’s Bing Concert Hall" (Architect Magazine, 1/27/2013)
- Scheinin, Richard. "New Performance Halls Expected to Change Cultural Landscape" (San Jose Mercury News, 1/7/2013)
- Swed, Mark. "Theater for the Unfocused Mind" (Los Angeles Times, 4/15/2013)
- 2012
- Kosman, Joshua. "Stanford's Bing Hall to Lift Curtain with Symphony" (San Fransisco Gate, 6/5/2012)
- 2013
- Levine, Mort. "New State-of-the-Art Concert Hall Lifts Region as Destination for World-Class Musical Talent" (San Jose Mercury News, 1/9/2013)
- Saieh, Nico. "Bing Concert Hall/Ennead Architects" (ArchDaily, 2/22/2013)
- 2012
- Frojo, Renee. "Stanford Unveils $111 Million Concert Hall" (San Francisco Business Times, 12/6/2012)
- Wander, Robin. "Stanford's Bing Concert Hall Opens to Rave Review" (Stanford News, 1/15/2013)
- 2010
- Pastier, John . "Polshek Concert Hall Makes Stanford Sing" (Architect's Newspaper, 6/16/2010)