Photo: Hedrich Blessing and Architect Hammond Beeby Rupert Ainge Lobby (above) and Stage (right) Photos: Hedrich Blessing and Architect Hammond Beeby Rupert Ainge

AIA Chicago recently awarded a Citation of Merit Award to the Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater for Music and Dance under its Distinguished Building Awards program.

Located in Chicago's Millennium Park, this new theater required that most of the building be located below grade. Yet the architect was able to express the exterior directly to the site in the park. Inside, they created a flexible stage large enough for classical dance, small enough for a soloist, with impeccable acoustics and site lines. Jurors felt like all of the goals and more were accomplished on a tight budget. The structure is all about illusion, nothing appears to be what it is; even the lights have a magical quality. "There's life in the theater whether the lights are on or off," a juror commented. (Text from "Focus" October 2005)

CEG, the precast structural engineer for the project, teamed with Prestress Services, Inc. to value-engineer a structural solution in precast, as the cost and schedule of a domestic steel frame proved unworkable. The main roof consists of 108' bulb tees carried by 30" x 54" girders and 30" columns creating a 65' high audience hall above stage level. Except for the entry lobby and raised area over the stage, the entire roof is part of the park and covered with soil and plantings weighing up to 500 PSF in some areas.

The theater opened in November one of the cornerstones of the magnificent Millennium Park in Chicago.