REX and OMA win award for Dallas Theatre

Dee and Charles Wyly Theater in Dallas, designed by REX and OMA, the studio founded by
Rem Koolhaas, has won the AIA (American Institute of Architects) Honor Award for Architecture. The judges particularly appreciated the new theatre concept in which the performance hall is closed in only by glass walls so that it is visible from the outside. The support functions traditionally present in a theatre (foyer, dressing rooms, washrooms, etc) which normally surround the stage area are in this case stacked above and below it, distributed over the building’s 12 floors. The most innovative feature of the project is the performance area, where an elaborate system of platforms and walkways moved by winches and pulleys, with mobile stands for the public, allows the artists to set up the performance space in perfect freedom, making quick changes even while the performance is underway.

by Agnese Bifulco

Design: REX/OMA
Location: Dallas, USA
Photographs: Iwan Baan, Tim Hursley

www.oma.nl
www.rex-ny.com
www.aia.org