Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts: Helzberg Hall

Abstract

Adjacent to the Muriel Kauffman Theatre is the 1600-seat vineyard-style concert hall, named Helzberg Hall. The exterior shape of the building is clearly visible from the interior of the hall, with its dramatic 30 m (100 foot) tall wall in the shape of the “rear” wall of the building, and also the main ceiling which gently descends from the peak of the room to the farthest audience seats in the balcony. The very tall ceiling necessitated the use of an ensemble reflector above the stage, a single square GFRG (glass fiber reinforced gypsum) element measuring 11.6 m wide and 12.8 m deep (38×42 ft), bulging slightly downward. It is suspended at a height of 15 m (50 ft) above the stage. Behind the stage, the 30 m tall concave wall encloses a 79-stop Casavant Frères organ.