Abstract
Buildings for the performing arts were adapted to public needs since ancient times. The most important part of those buildings for the audience was the auditorium. There are a number of factors that should be taken into account during the design of the auditorium, but the deciding factor is connected with the comfort and convenience of the audience. The relationship between the auditorium (the audience) and the stage (the performance) is a fundamental requirement for buildings for the performing arts. They can operate in a variety of ways with different types of productions accommodated in one space. The important issue is how and to what extent main elements of the auditorium affect the spectators’ reception of the show. The study and analysis of several factors having a positive impact on every member of the audience within the buildings for the performing arts is the main purpose of this paper.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Circus Maximus housed up to 250 thousand people.
- 2.
Elizabethan theatres were small. They were approximately 20–30 m in diameter, and the maximum distance from the centre of the stage to the furthest seats in the highest galleries did not exceed 15 m, despite the fact that the number of spectators ranged from 1500 to 3000 (spectators sitting in the galleries made up more than a half of the audience).
- 3.
The first such facility was the Bayreuth Theatre (Bayreuth Festspielhaus) in Germany, constructed in accordance with Wagner’s concepts in 1876 [3].
- 4.
This is because the concept of the synthesis of the arts dates back as far as ancient Greece, particularly to the archaic period, when art was syncretic. It was referred to as triune choreia, and it was a combination of sound (music), word (poetry) and movement (dance) [4]. Word is inextricably tied to music, and music (singing) – to dance, as indicated by the name orchestra, originating from the Greek orchesis, which meant “dance”. The orchestra was the place in the theatre occupied by the singers, who also were dancers as well. An actor in the Greek theatre had to both sing and dance. Theatrical performances in ancient Greece were supposed to accessible to all citizens.
- 5.
The designers modified the Gropius design and Oskar Strandt’s concept of the “circular stage”.
- 6.
In the theatre in Minneapolis, the distance from the centre of the stage to the furthest points of the auditorium did not exceed 18 m, despite the fact that the theatre had 1437 seats.
- 7.
The research concerned, in particular: communicativeness area of the performance and ways of ensuring good horizontal and vertical sightlines (with consideration of the auditorium rake).
- 8.
The scope of the paper would not allow it.
- 9.
The sightlines differ slightly for seated and standing persons.
- 10.
The top edge of the proscenium opening has to be adapted both to the audience on the top balconies and to the spectators seated in the front row on the ground level. The spectators on the balconies should be able to see the elements located on the platform at the back of the stage, and the audience in the first row on the ground level should not be able to see the equipment of the fly tower.
- 11.
The extreme upper sightline used to determine the top edge of the screen is assumed to be 37°.
- 12.
The authors specify various “E-values”: 10.3 cm for men and 9.8 cm for women (12 cm for design purposes) [7], 10 cm as the minimum distance and 12.5 as the recommended distance [8] or 12.7 cm [3]. Based on the author’s research, 10 cm is the average distance for women and men, but it should be increased at least to 12 cm for design purposes.
- 13.
According to Polish regulatory requirements, the clearway between rows of seats should not be smaller than 45 cm, which means that the minimum row spacing is approximately 85 cm.
- 14.
- 15.
Good acoustics of a theatre hall depends on a very large number of factors. The requirements for different forms of presentation vary as well – the reverberation time will be different for theatrical presentations (speech), for opera (singing) and for symphonic concerts.
- 16.
In accordance with the Polish construction law, the width is 120 cm.
- 17.
Research and analyses conducted, in particular, by the author of this paper indicate that it would be optimal to design the auditorium with a capacity of 40 people per travel lane (60 cm) per minute.
- 18.
The width of a seat with the backrest ranges from 50–52 cm to as much as 75 cm [8]. According to the author of this paper, the reasonable width of a seat with arm rests is 55–60 cm. Other important seat dimensions include: seat height (41–45 cm), seat angle (7–9°), backrest angle (15–20°) and seat depth (40–50 cm) [8], [3].
- 19.
Appleton specifies the minimum size of the area for a disabled person in the auditorium space as 90 × 140 cm [8].
- 20.
The area with optimum visibility and audibility is usually located at 0.50–0.70 of the length of the theatre hall, and the area with good visibility and audibility – at 0.36 to 0.80 of this length. However, e.g., in a theatre hall, the spectators preferred to occupy seats near the stage, as close to the centre of the proscenium opening as possible [9]. The optimum distance for watching images on the screen, in turn, ranges from 1.7 H to 5.5 H (where H is the height of the screen).
- 21.
Distances from the scene to the farthest seats in the auditorium should not exceed, based on research done by the author and comparative analyses of various buildings for the performing arts: 20–24 m for the theatre hall and for a hall used for dance performances, 30–32 m for the opera and 40 m for mass performances.
- 22.
Based on a representative group of 110 respondents.
- 23.
According to 78% of respondents.
- 24.
According to 56% of the surveyed people.
- 25.
The audience in concert halls prefers the seats located in the front part of the auditorium but not directly next to the stage and close to the axis of the stage platform (according to 52% of respondents).
- 26.
The depth of covered galleries in the Globe Elizabethan theatre in London was approximately 4 m [10]. The inner courtyard was not covered by a roof.
- 27.
The theatre is located on the site of a historical building – a fencing school. The school, in addition to fencing practice, was used to stage performances of Shakespearean theatre troupes from England.
References
Lewański, J.: Dramat i teatr średniowiecza i renesansu w Polsce, pp. 128–132. PAN, Warszawa (1981)
Braun, K.: Przestrzeń teatralna. PWN, Warszawa (1982)
Izenour, G.C.: Theater Design. Yale University Press, Yale (1997)
Tatarkiewicz, W.: Estetyka starożytna. Ossolineum, Wrocław (1962)
Leśniakowska, M.: Architektura teatralna. In: Encyklopedia Teatru Polskiego. http://www.encyklopediateatru.pl
Turowiec, A.: Teatr Symultaniczny – projekt niezrealizowany. http://www.theatre-architecture.eu
Grudziński, A.J.: Audytoria dydaktyczne. Wydawnictwa Politechniki Wrocławskiej, Wrocław (1979)
Appleton, I.: Buildings for the Performing Arts. A Design and Development Guide. Elsevier, Architectural Press, Oxford (2008)
Burris-Meyer, H., Cole, E.C.: Theatres and Auditoriums. Reinhold, New York (1964)
Supplements, Pentagram: Rebuilding Shakespeare’s Globe. Pentagram Design Limited, London (1997)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this paper
Cite this paper
Amałowicz, P. (2020). Human Scale in Architecture of Buildings for the Performing Arts. In: Charytonowicz, J., Falcão, C. (eds) Advances in Human Factors in Architecture, Sustainable Urban Planning and Infrastructure. AHFE 2019. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 966. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20151-7_16
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20151-7_16
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-20150-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-20151-7
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)