MUSIC: Boettcher redo could conduct a neighborhood rebirth

By Marc Shulgold, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published July 4, 2008 at 3 p.m.

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Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto, designed by Diamond and Schmitt.

We have a pope!

OK, I exaggerate. Truth is, we have an architect.

The pope thing was just to get your attention, since the selection of a designer to renovate Boettcher Hall doesn't exactly make the heart skip a beat.

No big deal, right?

Think again.

Earlier this week, the city announced that Diamond and Schmitt had won the coveted assignment of creating a new concert hall at the Performing Arts Complex.

To citizens who approved the bond measure earmarking $60 million toward the redo, know that you may have accomplished more than shelling out money for a fancy new concert facility. This project could transform the entire neighborhood.

I recently sat through 12 hours of architects' presentations as the six finalists showed slides, displayed models, spoke about the greatness of Denver - did everything but deliver roses to the 18 selection-panel members.

While they addressed the requirements of a better Boettcher, every respected architecture firm (including Diamond and Schmitt) proposed a revitalized neighborhood:

* The park bordering Speer Boulevard (the one with those giant white dancers) can become a gathering place.

* The Performing Arts Complex and the redeveloping Auraria campus across Speer can be joined together.

* The unsightly brick wall looming over Speer can be replaced by a glass facade, attracting attention from those who drive along Speer as it offers a view of the mountains for those inside the concert hall.

* Restaurants can be built, open to Boettcher patrons and non-concertgoers, luring in young and old.

Before you get too excited, understand that the Diamond and Schmitt architects are a long way from turning in their plans. There's much to do before a design is approved and construction begins.

Then, of course, there's the cost. The final price tag could easily exceed the proposed $90 million to $100 million. If the extra cash can't be raised, it's possible that the best-laid plans will go no further than the drawing board. (And yes, that also happened the first time they built Boettcher.)

Yet, it's clear that a lively, welcoming design remains a high priority for everyone involved in the planning process. This is not just about making Boettcher a nice room in which to hear and play music - this is about opening up the west side of the complex to all of Denver.

It's a huge challenge for the Toronto-based architects. Which leads one to ask, who are these guys?

Diamond and Schmitt may lack the performing arts-center experience of other finalists, but the firm did design the renovation of Max Fisher Hall, home of the Detroit Symphony, and it did create the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto, dominated by an opera house.

As Jack Diamond told me earlier this week, after receiving the good news from the City of Denver, those two high-profile projects are quite different.

"But we had a steep learning curve with them. With each, we had to figure out in principle what is the right approach, then find a way to implement it. I believe we showed (the selection panel) that we understand what the issues are in this project."

Translation: They're no dummies. But what about the projects they shepherded? How'd they turn out?

A few months ago, a search team from Denver visited several halls, including the Max Fisher Music Center in Detroit. A stopover in Toronto was not on the itinerary.

I've never been to the Four Seasons complex, but I did find a commentary from Christopher Hume of the Toronto Star. He was not kind.

In a scathing column published in April 2007, he chided Toronto officials for the "architectural ordinariness" of a waterfront redevelopment plan, designed by Diamond and Schmitt. Blaming the review panel as well as the architects, Hume called the final design "the same old, same old."

Then, he addressed the Four Seasons. Acknowledging that a health center and information technology building in Toronto were "examples of the excellence of which the firm is capable," Hume noted that Diamond and Schmitt's "great strength is its ability to produce ... buildings that fit in seamlessly with their context. ... But then there's the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, which fails as a civic and cultural icon."

No doubt there are those in Toronto who love the place. You can't please everyone. Whatever we wind up with here, there will be those who love it and those who don't.

My guess is that the new Boettcher will be superior to the old, that its smaller capacity, more open lobbies and refined acoustics will enhance the concertgoing experience.

My hope is that the land that surrounds the hall will become a lively new place for Denverites to hang out, that Boettcher will become a magnet for fun-seekers and culture-lovers, rather than the cold, intimidating, off-putting edifice it is now.

Marc Shulgold is the music and dance writer. Shulgoldm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5296

Your thoughts?

Have some thoughts about the new Boettcher and surrounding grounds? The city will host public forums down the road, but voice your ideas now.

E-mail: shulgoldm@ RockyMountain News.com

Mail: Rocky Mountain News/Marc Shulgold, 101 W. Colfax Ave., Suite 500, Denver, CO 80202

• July 5, 2008

  10:27 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  davebarnes writes:

  I love the asymmetric design of the current concert hall. I especially enjoy sitting BEHIND the orchestra in our series seats on Sundays. We get to watch the face of the conductor whilst the majority watches his behind.

  I fear that the new design will be very conventional and boring. I fear that I will no longer be able to sit aft of the orchestra.

• July 5, 2008

  11:50 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  JohnSWren writes:

  What do you think? Join us for Denver Speakers Corner tomorrow, Sunday, July 6, 4 p.m. at Civic Center North Pavilion on Colfax across the street from the Denver Newspaper Agency. More and optional RSVP at http://cocacop.meetup.com/2

  RSVP "No" if you can't join us tomorrow, and you'll get a notice of our next meeting.

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