A view of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts at night. …
A view of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts at night. The lobby area, known as the Brandmeyer Great Hall is seen through the 330-foot-long glass curtain wall.
Michael Spillers
Inside the 1,600-seat Helzberg Concert Hall, home to the Kansas …
Inside the 1,600-seat Helzberg Concert Hall, home to the Kansas City Symphony.
Michael Spillers
A view from the stage of Helzberg Hall looking out at the seatin…
A view from the stage of Helzberg Hall looking out at the seating area. The hall is outfitted with both architectural lighting and theatrical lighting systems. The perimeter of the space is accented by PAR38 IR wallwashers that line the ceiling cove.
Glenn Heinmiller/Lam Partners
A view of the 1,800-seat Muriel Kauffman Theatre, home to the Ka…
A view of the 1,800-seat Muriel Kauffman Theatre, home to the Kansas City Ballet and the Lyric Opera of Kansas City.
Michael Spillers
In the Muriel Kauffman Theatre, the sparkling effect seen in the…
In the Muriel Kauffman Theatre, the sparkling effect seen in the balcony fronts is achieved by custom textured acrylic forms backed with a folded reflective material and illuminated by dimmable LED striplights.
Michael Spillers
A view of Brandmeyer Great Hall from the staircase leading off o…
A view of Brandmeyer Great Hall from the staircase leading off of the perimeter balcony corridors of Helzberg Concert Hall. The perimeter balcony corridors of the Muriel Kauffman Theatre are seen in the distance. Lighting is made discreet to blend into the architecture.
Paul Zaferiou/Lam Partners
Brandmeyer Great Hall. A color wash is created by light reflecte…
Brandmeyer Great Hall. A color wash is created by light reflected from the carpet (red for the Muriel Kauffman Theatre and blue for Helzberg Hall)Â a planned effect achieved through elaborate testing and mock-ups.
Michael Spillers
The entry drive to the Kauffman Center is anchored by 27 high-te…
The entry drive to the Kauffman Center is anchored by 27 high-tension steel cables that support the glass curtainwall.
Michael Spillers
The north entry to the Kauffman Center features the dramatic rib…
The north entry to the Kauffman Center features the dramatic ribbed forms of the stainless steel-clad structure of the performance halls.
Michael Spillers
Clusters of carefully aimed, and discreetly placed, ceramic me…
Clusters of carefully aimed, and discreetly placed, ceramic metal halide spotlights wash across the building's dramatically formed north elevation.
Designed by Safdie Architects, the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts sits confidently on the Kansas City’s horizon, and its unique architectural form—a ribbed, helmetlike shape—gives the city a notable landmark. While the building as a whole has a sizeable urban presence, the real cause for celebration is its technical prowess, most of which is hidden in its structure, acoustical performance, and lighting. The center is actually several structures in one, wrapped in an envelope of metal and glass. It has two main performance halls—Helzberg Hall and the Muriel Kauffman Theater—each of which is structurally independent of one another as well as the main glass-enclosed lobby area known as Brandmeyer Hall.
Lam Partners, with the assistance of local firm Derek Porter Studio, have lit the interiors and exteriors in a seemingly simple, yet technically sophisticated, way. For example, five different luminaires work in concert to illuminate the entry drive and its architectural features. In Brandmeyer Hall, PAR38-IR spotlights are mounted directly to the tubular steel beams and provide the space with complementary lighting at night, which otherwise relies on daylight. Despite the scale of the building, the lighting provides an intimate feel and sets the stage for the spectacle within.
Jury Comments: The lighting cohesively brings all the different spaces together. • The lighting of the back facade is particularly dramatic.
Details
Architect: Safdie Architects, Somerville, Mass., with BNIM, Kansas City, Mo.
Lighting Designers: Lam Partners, Cambridge, Mass., with Derek Porter Studio, Kansas City, Mo.
Photographer: Michael Spillers
Project Size: 356,000 square feet
Project Cost: $304 million
Watts per Square Foot: Missouri has no energy code
Manufacturers: Acolyte, Alcko, Bartco Lighting,
Baselite, Bega, C.W. Cole, D’ac, Dasal Lighting, Designplan, Eureka,
Engineered Lighting Products, Edison Price, Elliptipar (the Lighting
Quotient), Erco, Finelite, Focal Point, Halo (Cooper Lighting), H.E.
Williams, Hubell, Intense Lighting, Insight Lighting, Jesolo,
Litecontrol, Louis Poulsen, Lucifer Lighting, Lumiere (Cooper Lighting),
New Star, Osram, Philips Capri, Philips Day-Brite, Philips Lightolier,
Philips Omega, Rezek, RSA, Selux, Tivoli, We-ef
Elizabeth Donoff is Editor-at-Large of Architectural Lighting (AL). She served as Editor-in-Chief from 2006 to 2017. She joined the editorial team in 2003 and is a leading voice in the lighting community speaking at industry events such as Lightfair and the International Association of Lighting Designers Annual Enlighten Conference, and has twice served as a judge for the Illuminating Engineering Society New York City Section’s (IESNYC) Lumen Award program. In 2009, she received the Brilliance Award from the IESNYC for dedicated service and contribution to the New York City lighting community. Over the past 11 years, under her editorial direction, Architectural Lighting has received a number of prestigious B2B journalism awards. In 2017, Architectural Lighting was a Top Ten Finalist for Magazine of the Year from the American Society of Business Publication Editors' AZBEE Awards. In 2016, Donoff received the Jesse H. Neal Award for her Editor’s Comments in the category of Best Commentary/Blog, and in 2015, AL received a Jesse H. Neal Award for Best Media Brand (Overall Editorial Excellence).Prior to her entry into design journalism, Donoff worked in New York City architectural offices including FXFowle where she was part of the project teams for the Reuters Building at Three Times Square and the New York Times Headquarters. She is a graduate of Bates College in Lewiston, Me., and she earned her Master of Architecture degree from the School of Architecture at Washington University in St. Louis.
