Portland Center for the Performing Arts
Portland, Oregon
 

BMA, in collaboration with ELS and BOORA, won the competition to design the Portland Center for the Performing Arts, a $30 million project which includes the renovation of the 1927 Paramount Theater and the construction of two new ones.

The Paramount was refurbished and converted into a 2,750-seat concert hall. Across the street, the two new theaters are positioned side by side. The larger, a 900-seat venue, is an intimate Edwardian-style theater with two balcony levels. The 450-seat facility, in the tradition of English 'courtyard' theaters, is surrounded by three levels of balconies.

A multi-leveled lobby doubles as a large glass 'proscenium opening' and places the ticket holder, as he enters the lobby, in the actor's role-centerstage of a classical opera house. Between the Paramount and the new theaters, Main Street has been regarded and furnished with entry gates to create an exterior room that unifies the entire complex.

   
Timothy Hursley