This weekend, after a 13-month COVID related delay, the Rady Shell at Jacobs Park, developed and managed by the San Diego Symphony, officially opens on 3.7 acres of the city’s downtown Embarcadero district.
The $85 million Rady Shell at Jacobs Park, designed by the project’s Lead Architect and AOR Tucker Sadler Architects, is the first permanent venue for the Symphony’s schedule of outdoor classical concerts. It aspires to be the same kind of draw as the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, the nation’s only other year-round outdoor concert venue operated by an orchestra.
The park is accessible to the public for free 85% of the year, as the Symphony spent $3 million to rebuild and upgrade the adjacent basketball courts and outdoor athletic equipment at Embarcadero Marina Park South. It added 34 donor benches, which are illuminated at night and were built around the venue’s perimeter and along the promenade between the venue and the San Diego Convention Center.
AN INTERNATIONAL BUILDING TEAM
The Rady Shell is amplified by an on-stage sound system as well as a second system at each side of the stage and behind the audience.
With its flexible seating capacity of 10,000 within a 1.25-acre audience area, Rady Shell at Jacobs Park features walkways, open-air dining pavilions, and recreational facilities. The Shell itself showcases a 4,800-sf stage wrapped in a 33,000-sf canopy provided by Australia-based Fabritecture. U.K.-based Soundforms, with architects from Flanagan Lawrence, Expedition Engineers, and ES Global, designed the Performance Shell, expanding and adapting the concept to accommodate a large orchestra, chorus, and soloists. (The Rady Shell in San Diego is 57 ft high and 82 ft wide.) Tucker Sadler was responsible for the overall design of the venue at Jacobs Park, including backstage artist support, three professional kitchens, underground restrooms, the seating area, and the public park that offers views of San Diego Bay and the city's skyline.
The Rady Shell uses two acoustical systems designed by Salter in consultation with sound designer Shawn Murphy: an on-stage Meyer Constellation Acoustic system, and an L-Acoustics system that projects sound from six towers three on each side of the stage. JRLX and theater consultant Schuler Shook designed the venue’s lighting, and Solotech provided the audio-visual elements. An LED lighting system developed by Horton Lees Brogdon Lighting Design illuminates the exterior canopy.
PHILANTHROPIC OUTPOURING
The venue provides views of this city and its waterfront. Image: Sal Villanueva, Tucker Sadler Architects
Nearly all of the money raised to fund this project came from private donors including Qualcomm’s founder Irwin Jacobs, who proposed the idea for an outdoor concert space two decades ago, according to the San Diego Union Tribune. Rady Shell also brings the Symphony—which was founded in 1910 but in 1996 was forced to liquidate its assets under Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code—full circle.
The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park is designed to host more than 100 concerts and events year-round.
Other members of this project’s Building Team include Gardiner & Theobald (project manager), Coffman Engineers (SE), and Burton Studios (landscape architect).
Related Stories
| Feb 24, 2014
New Menil Drawing Institute will fit in with leafy surroundings
In Houston, plans are being finalized for the first freestanding American building built to house and conserve modern and contemporary drawings.
| Jan 30, 2014
How reverse engineering nature can spur design innovation
It’s not enough to copy nature. Today’s designers need a deeper understanding of environmental nuance, from the biome in.
| Jan 28, 2014
16 awe-inspiring interior designs from around the world [slideshow]
The International Interior Design Association released the winners of its 4th Annual Global Excellence Awards. Here's a recap of the winning projects.
| Jan 27, 2014
A climber's dream: Rock climbing hall planned near Iran's highest peak
Forget the rock climbing wall. A developer in Iran is building a rock climbing hall. That's right, an entire building dedicated to the sport, with more than 48,000 sf of program space.
| Jan 17, 2014
Crystal Bridges Museum will move Frank Lloyd Wright house from New Jersey to Arkansas
Numerous architectural experts have concluded that moving the Bachman Wilson House offers its best hope for long-term survival.
| Jan 13, 2014
Custom exterior fabricator A. Zahner unveils free façade design software for architects
The web-based tool uses the company's factory floor like "a massive rapid prototype machine,” allowing designers to manipulate designs on the fly based on cost and other factors, according to CEO/President Bill Zahner.
| Jan 11, 2014
Getting to net-zero energy with brick masonry construction [AIA course]
When targeting net-zero energy performance, AEC professionals are advised to tackle energy demand first. This AIA course covers brick masonry's role in reducing energy consumption in buildings.
| Dec 30, 2013
Calatrava facing legal action from his home town over crumbling cultural complex
Officials with the city of Valencia, Spain, are blaming Santiago Calatrava for the rapid deterioration of buildings within its City of Arts and Sciences complex.
| Dec 19, 2013
Mastering the art of crowd control and visitor flow in interpretive facilities
To say that visitor facility planning and design is challenging is an understatement. There are many factors that determine the success of a facility. Unfortunately, visitor flow, the way people move and how the facility accommodates those movements, isn’t always specifically considered.
| Dec 13, 2013
Safe and sound: 10 solutions for fire and life safety
From a dual fire-CO detector to an aspiration-sensing fire alarm, BD+C editors present a roundup of new fire and life safety products and technologies.
