Diamond & Schmitt Architects new landmark Performing Arts Centre in Toronto
The landmark Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts is the new purpose-built performance space for the Canadian Opera Company and the National Ballet of Canada.
The transparency of the façade on University Avenue is paramount to the success of the architectural concept for the building. The objective was to produce a building that was incredibly transparent. The structures primary public face is nearly 20m high and 50m long. The ‘City Room’ contains multiple levels of lobby and stairs as well as a 200-seat aerial amphitheatre. A grand glass staircase, with a horizontal run of almost 27m and a rise of 8.8m, connects the upper levels of the lobby with the city room. The edifice is the longest spanning glass stair constructed in the world.
The intimate 2,000 seat auditorium is modeled on the traditional European horseshoe configuration. Built to the extremely demanding N-1 criteria for acoustic quality, the Four Seasons Centre is the first entirely structurally isolated performance facility in Canada.
Public tours are available. See
www.fourseasonscentre.ca for details.
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