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Marion Oliver McCaw Hall/Seattle Opera House

Seattle, Washington

As a fog dissolves into rain and then to a mist, one magical moment blends into the next - so too the lighting collaboration for this performing arts center.   The Seattle Opera, home to the Pacific Northwest Ballet and the Seattle Opera has reopened as Marion Oliver McCaw Hall.   Improvements to the $127 million facility include a dramatic new transparent lobby, renovation of the 2,900-seat auditorium, a new Café and Donor Rooms. Elements of art, architecture, interiors, and theater all have a role in this subtle play of light.   Thus, in the architectural lighting design - a leap of faith and trust in the ensemble was necessary to achieve the proper nuanced balance - one must not overpower the other.  

The design concept of diffusing the line between exterior and interior was accomplished by the creation of a luminous glass facade as well as the promenade exterior theatrical scrims that weave in and out of the building.   Working closely with the designers at LMN Architects and the scrim light artist, Leni Schwendinger, the design team agreed that the watery reflection of the scrims was to be the ‘chandelier' of this sweeping lobby and thus, the architectural lighting attempts a bit of a disappearing act (into the mist).   A special challenge here was the owner's decision not to use dimming for the lobbies – another careful dance in the balance of enough but not too much light.   On the gloomiest afternoons, a third downlight at the curtainwall (used primarily as the nightlight for the lobby and plaza), can be turned on to boost the level of light.   As the palette of materials becomes more saturated in color, the lighting becomes more bold and playful in response.   A ‘bow-tie' effect of light was a simple yet effective way to bring sparkle to the donor's lounge (halogen ‘peanut' lamps were used with simple light baffles to create the pattern). The intensity of material color saturation reaches a crescendo in the auditorium.   Lighting includes careful integration with the existing coffered ceiling and features dramatic colored backlight of the sound locks filtering into the space.   Wood balcony fronts are highlighted for added warmth.

Built as a civic auditorium in 1927, Marion Oliver McCaw Hall symbolically and visually blurs the line between art and everyday life by not only paying tribute to the talented performers, but to the public and audiences as well.

This project's lighting design has been recognized with a Lumen West Award of Excellence and an IES/IIDA Award of Merit.