Carnegie Hall, Judy and Arthur Zankel Hall

Determined largely by acoustical requirements, the form of this multi-use performance hall is a rectangle within an ellipse. Possessing the acoustical qualities of a classical “shoebox” hall, the rectangular hall functions equally well in an end-stage, center-stage or no-stage configuration. The curved walls of the canted reinforced concrete ellipse perceptually centralize the space, dramatically reinforce the hall’s individual identity by separating the space from the historic building envelope, and architecturally signify the technically-sophisticated qualities of the hall.