Meyerson Symphony Center, one of only a few world-class concert halls in existence, was undertaken to establish Dallas as an international cultural center while revitalizing the city and anchoring its emerging downtown Arts District. The solution to these different but related functions involves two primary components: an inward-looking music chamber and an outward-looking lobby.
The concert hall is a traditional 2,000-seat shoebox. Its form and shape result from a rigorous investigation into optimum capacity, ideal sight lines and acoustical excellence. Notwithstanding such technical constraints, the hall was designed to enhance the pleasure of making and of listening to music. Acoustical canopies over the orchestra are adjustable for perfected sound so that the hall can be used for symphonic music, but also recitals, concerts, ensemble and solo performances.
In contrast to the necessarily hermetic performance hall, the intricately glazed lobby with its restaurant, outdoor garden and sculpture court, provides an inviting place for the public to congregate when performances are not in progress. Inclined toward the skyline and transparent by day and night, it reaches out to a much larger public than those attending performances.