Following the success of the Kennedy Center Concert Hall renovation, SMS was asked to continue working with the team to renovate the Opera House. The theater has 2318 seats and is one of the largest stages of its kind in the country. It is home to the Washington Opera and Ballet, easily accommodates first-run Broadway musicals, and is perhaps best known for the elegant Kennedy Center Honors, which recognizes lifetime contributions to the arts.

The goal of Michael Kaiser, president of the Kennedy Center, was to improve accessibility for disabled patrons and upgrade the technical systems of the facility without changing the aesthetics of the house.

SMS was charged with performing a life-safety analysis and upgrade, expanding the orchestra pit to provide accessibility for musicians, redesigning the seating plan and public circulation in the front-of-house areas, and designing lighting and rigging systems and control booths.

Architectural lighting included refurbishment of the exquisite Lobmeyr crystal chandelier, that "…dwarfs the one used in The Phantom of the Opera."
~ Washington Post

SERVICES
Space Programming
Architectural Planning
Stage Rigging Systems
Theatrical Lighting Systems
Seating Layouts
Sightline Analysis
Accessibility Solutions
Theatre Drapery
Interior Design
Architectural Lighting

DESIGN TEAM
Theatre Design Specialists
Sachs Morgan Studio
Architects
Quinn Evans|Architects
Acoustician
Jaffe Holden Acoustics
Cost Consultant
Donnell Consultants Inc.
Electrical Engineers
Environmental Systems Design

PROJECT COST


OPENING DATE
2003

SEATING CAPACITY
2318

Sachs Morgan Studio | We Design Theatres People Love
224 West 30th Street, New York NY 10001| T:212-765-4144 F:212-765-4142
info@sachsmorganstudio.com