Page 10 - CinemaRecord Edition 3-2003 #41
P. 10

In Pursuit Of Perfection:



                      Elisabeth Murdoch Hall and John Sumner Theatre


            Decades of change to transform the
          once tatty southern entrance to
          Melbourne into the Southbank cultural
          precinct is nearer completion after the
          opening of two superior venues.
            The precinct encompasses the Arts
          Centre - Hamer Hall, the State
          Theatre, the Playhouse - the National
          Gallery of Victoria and now, the
          Melbourne Performance Centre, and
          the new home for the Melbourne
          Theatre Company, the John Sumner
          Theatre.
            Technically, the gem of the group is
          probably the Elisabeth Murdoch Hall
          (EMH) within the Melbourne
          Performance Centre, a 1,000-seat
          auditorium designed for fine music in a
          setting that will allow ‘freedom of
          expression in the best possible form.’  The open weave exterior of the Melbourne Performance Centre (right) almost dissolves
            Rarely does a design brief stress a  the barrier between inside and outside.
          vision of ‘uncompromised acoustic,  The seemingly zig-zag exterior to the left of the Recital Centre is the new home for the
          architectural and artistic programs’,  Melbourne Theatre Company.
          much less follow through on it. Yet this
          is what Melbourne audiences has been
          given. It invites comparison with the
          euphoria over possibilities for the
          Sydney Opera House. The analogy is
          a bit of a stretch, but in both cases
          international skill was melded with
          local, and the finished works gave the
          public a new experience.
            The new experience at the EMH is
          acoustic perfection. The design team
          was led by Ian McDougall of Ashton,
          Raggat McDougall (ARM) and the UK
          based Arup Acoustics.
            ARM’s Ian Mcdougall said of the
          project, “We searched for a meaningful
          architectural response to classical and
          acoustic music performance in the 21st
          century. We began with the shoe-box -
          the shape that experts say guarantees or
          predicts acoustic perfection”.
            According to McDougall, one
          hurdle for an architect was accepting
          that the room would have to be box
                                            Looking towards the city from the Level One foyer.
          shaped. But once this essential
          ‘boxiness’ was acknowledged, the  Both images from EMH website
          process was to create ‘a remarkable
          room of spectacle, surface and sound.’










          10  2009 CINEMARECORD
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