Mondavi Center

The inaugural performance calendar for the newly opened Robert and Magrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts features a diverse selection of world-class musicians, dancers, and speakers. Accommodating this diversity of top-notch performers while still providing an ideal performance and audience environment is quite a task; however, the Mondavi Center succeeds by utilizing the latest state-of-the art technology, from innovative acoustics, to a highly adaptable stage and a multi-featured Web site.

Photo by Debbie Aldridge

Foremost for any performing arts center are the acoustics, and the Mondavi Center building site presented some unique acoustical challenges. The Center is located just several hundred feet from both a highly-used railway and Interstate 80, which makes for great visibility and accessibility, but also high levels of noise and ground vibration.

The solution, explains Ron McKay, a principal partner in McKay Conant Brook Inc. and acoustical consultant for the Mondavi Center, was to build a "box within a box. There is a complete basement under the audience chamber and the stage, which are both elevated," said McKay. The walls of the Center facing the railroad tracks and the freeway are also several feet thick, and the building itself stands on vibration-dampening piers that jut deep into the ground. The combined effect of these structural features is that almost no external sounds can be heard from inside the Center.

Another challenge in building the Mondavi Center was the need for a multi-purpose facility that would still provide a superior performing environment. "The University Committee set high standards of quality so none of the various types of performances would be compromised," explains Susan Rainier, an architect in the Architecture and Engineering Department at UC Davis and university project manager for the Mondavi Center construction. "This meant that in both performance rooms there would need to be a great range of acoustic settings and staging configurations," said Rainier. "As in all theater designs, the goal was also to create an intimate environment for the audience and artists."

To meet this need, a host of special features were employed. In Jackson Hall, the 1,800-seat multi-purpose theatre, the highly adaptable stage area sports a massive yet mobile structure, called an Orchestra Enclosure and Canopy that is somewhat of a technical marvel. Weighing in at 54,000 pounds, the structure, built as a single unit, can be raised or lowered depending on the size of the ensemble and helps the musicians hear each other, while also projecting nearly the full volume of the performance to the audience chamber.

According to Rainier, the enormous enclosure can be easily moved using what are called "air casters." Rainier explains, "These are rubber bladders under the structure that literally float the Orchestra Enclosure on a cushion of air so it can be pushed in and out of position. It can also be completely pushed into its storage garage when not in use so the entire Stage is rapidly available for any other performance types." The entire process can be handled in minutes by a crew of four (two to push, two to steer)—a huge time and resource saver over other multi-use auditoriums, which often feature orchestra shells that require a large crew and hours to construct and move.

Jackson Hall also contains large velour acoustic curtains that can be electronically extended throughout the audience chamber to create the ideal listening environment for any type of performance. Using lasers to simulate the travel paths of sound waves from the stage, Ron McKay's group placed the curtains in key parts of the hall. The result is that the curtains are so accurately placed that the audience chamber can effectively be "tuned" for a single person (i.e., a public speaker or soloist) or a large rock concert.

The adjacent Studio Theater, which includes variable seating configurations for up to 250 people, also has full theatrical sound and lighting systems, and comprehensive soundproofing. According to the Center's Web site, the soundproofing is so good that it won't be unusual to have simultaneous performances in both the Studio Theater and Jackson Hall.

Amazingly enough, the comprehensive computer system controlling all of the theatrical machinery and acoustic systems is managed by a single touchscreen panel on each stage. The extensive lighting systems are also controlled via simple touchscreen panels that allow individual control of over 750 theatrical lighting circuits.

Nearly every part of the Center is also fully connected to the campus high-speed network, which allows for even further flexibility for future performances. In the future, according to Paul VerWey, director of the IET Mediaworks Video Production unit, the Center will be able to create "shared performances" in which live video will accommodate large crowds. "Using the campus network, they will be able to run a live video feed of the performances to other sites."

The Mondavi Center Web site also offers visitors several unique features. In addition to an online calendar of events, visitors can take a virtual video "fly through" tour of the theater, and can view the sight lines from each seating section before they purchase tickets. Future plans include implementing an online ticket purchasing system. Until then, tickets are available through the UC Davis Ticket Office at (530) 752-1915.

As the Mondavi Center acts as a keystone building for the new regional entrance to campus, so will it also act as a prime example of how technology can help create a world-class yet highly adaptable performance environment. Together, the design and state-of-the art technology of the Studio Theater and Jackson Hall vault the facility into the upper echelon of multi-use venues. "Combined, the two performance stages comprise one of the most accessible, modern and acoustically advanced centers of its kind," says Brian McCurdy, director of University Cultural Programs and director of the Mondavi Center.

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