Point Park University Pittsburgh Playhouse

Project Details

Project Description

FROM THE ARCHITECTS:

The largest project the university has ever undertaken, the long-awaited Pittsburgh Playhouse at Point Park University has a substantial impact on both the university and on downtown Pittsburgh. The tight urban site created a planning challenge for the proscenium, requiring the venue to abut the sidewalk and precluding conventional access from the rear of the theater. DLR Group responded to this constraint by developing patron access from the side of the theater and developed an asymmetrical seating arrangement that responds to patron flow. Positioning the main stage to be visible from the street connects passersby to the University and its creative programs, and the Playhouse’s location in the city’s downtown business district offers Pittsburgh a unique cultural attraction that will positively impact the local economy.

Situated on 1.5 acres at Point Park’s downtown campus, the 90,411 SF complex project features three new theaters: a 550-seat proscenium/thrust main stage and multi-form 212-seat “transformational theater,” both of which feature variable enclosures that allow each venue to play to its urban neighbor-hood, and a 102-seat black box venue. It also houses a sound stage, scenery shop, prop shop, paint shop, costume shop, television studio, scenic design and general classrooms, rehearsal halls, acting studios, classrooms, and faculty offices as well as public amenities such as lobbies, public toilets, concessions, ticket/business office and performer support. Additional labs and shops and studios are exposed to the internal circulation system and to the street itself, communicating the vitality of making, fabrication, experimentation, and creativity. DLR Group’s design for the Playhouse provides state-of-the-art facilities for the university’s Conservatory of Performing Arts (COPA), a program that was ranked #8 on Playbill.com’s 2018-2019 list of the Top Colleges Currently Represented on Broadway and #5 on OnStage’s 2018-2019 list of the Top 10 Bachelor of Fine Arts Dance Programs in the Country. The Playhouse is a League of Resident Theatres member and plays a crucial role in cultivating skills that enable students to pursue careers as working artists. DLR Group provided master planning, architecture, interiors, MEP + structural engineering, LEED, theater technical, acoustics, IT / telecom design.

DLR Group acquired Westlake Reed Leskosky in September 2016. Today, the combined design expertise and resources of Westlake Reed Leskosky and DLR Group serve clients as a global, integrated design firm committed to elevating the human experience through design.