How to put something NEW in an old building without harming the OLD...

Step inside the Quigg Newton Auditorium into the Ellie Caulkins Opera House and you are instantly transported to a world of modern elegance. Only the shape of the arched windows, opened for the first time in 50 years allowing the public to see the inside from the street, gives a hint of the building's neoclassic facade. Less obvious as a connection to the building's historic past are a couple of the original columns of black steel that supported the structure for about half a century. Standing tall on the sides, they were left exposed in the lobby (see photo below).

According to Peter Lucking, the project's lead architect from Semple Brown Design, "The architecture is designed to be timeless. There are no trendy colors. The finishes are really very simple and honest."

Styling the interior architecture after the neoclassism of the historic facade was ruled out from the very beginning:"We take more of an Italian approach. In Italy, for example, they will come in and put something new in an old building without harming the old. Something that's in harmony, but says when it was built. And our approach was to do that, to really distinguish between the old and the new, but then have the harmony of two designs."

And, adds Lucking: "There is something to be said about a historic building. There's a great sense of arrival and history in having the outer facade of that building.... You feel that you've arrived. "

The design team intended for people attending an event at The Ellie to be on show in the lobby. Lucking, who specializes in theaters and performing arts spaces, continues:

"The lobby was designed to have the minimal number of pieces that can be on display. The lobby is about the people. The lobby is very noisy as you've discovered, very Italian in that it encourages conversation. We want people to do that. We want the noise. People were initially quite shocked , but the reality is you're a lot more comfortable if you feel that other people can't hear what you're saying to the person next to you."

Thus, as you enter the lobby, your eye is drawn from the central entrance to the sweeping line of the grand staircase on either side, where points of circulation such as lobby bars and restrooms are located.

" The simplicity of the design is really organized around the audience and how they arrive in these spaces, about making sure that they have all the amenities as close as possible... and really trying to create an atmosphere that interlinks the verticality of both the lobby and the house. And the overviews that you have, the vision of the grand staircase... you're often on display in that lobby, and I think people love that."

Indeed. The unique glass railings on the grand staircases and the upper levels subtly serve to enhance one's people-watching experience, as do the tantalizing gold and green tendrils of the Chihuly chandelier and the striking art works in strategic places. The lobby thus is a wonderful prelude to the show that awaits you in main hall - the "snowflake" lights that glow in the ceiling give little hints of what you will see as you enter the house, the curved spaces shaped by the semi-circular wall of cherry wood create a sense of the drama that will take place within.

Photo credits: Semple Brown Design, FanFaire