LITTLE ROCK — The Little Rock Advertising and Promotion Commission heard proposals from four architects vying to help renovate the Robinson Center and Robinson Center Music Hall on Thursday.
The architects, who were either from Little Rock or had partnered with a Little Rock engineering or architectural firm, gave hour-long presentations about their previous experience renovating or designing similar projects.
Firm representatives discussed ideas to prepare the structure for an earthquake, update the acoustics and deal with long-standing equipment loading issues.
No decision was made Thursday on which firm would work on the upgrades estimated to cost between $50 million and $65 million, but commission members said they hoped to move quickly next month to award a contract.
“This could be one of the most important decisions for the city of Little Rock’s future that could be made in some time,” said Philip Tappan, commission chairman.
The four finalists were Wittenberg, Delony & Davidson of Little Rock, partnered with Studio RED of Houston; Martinez and Johnson of Washington, D.C., with Roark Perkins Perry Yelvington of Little Rock; Ennead Architects of New York, with Polk Stanley Wilcox of Little Rock; and Witsell Evans Rasco of Little Rock with LMN of Seattle.
The Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau has not yet secured financing for the project but plans to do so once estimates are more firm. The bureau manages and maintains the facility, where it also has its headquarters.
City officials and the bureau’s staff have said an anticipated bond referendum would cover the cost of the renovations to the center, which was built in 1939 and gained an addition in the 1970s.
Proposed renovations involve reducing the seating in the hall from 2,609 to between 1,800 and 2,300 seats to create a more intimate sound and feel for performances.
The plans would also move the balcony seats by about 34 feet and the rear orchestra level by about 44 feet, while also allowing the symphony to extend into the area where the audience is now seated.
Other changes would increase stage space, reduce office space by almost 3,000 square feet and downsize the exhibition hall from nearly 15,000 square feet to 6,400 square feet.
The plans could also increase lobby size, renovate meeting rooms and possibly add a third level to the building for conference space — although the last option is not included in cost estimates. The city also asked that the changes be as environmentally friendly as possible.
Wittenberg, Delony & Davidson gave the first presentation, noting that the firm had designed the original building and the subsequent addition.
The team also touted other projects that included the neighboring Statehouse Convention Center, the Hot Springs Convention Center, the Fayetteville Town Center, Har-Ber High School in Springdale and the expansion of the Razorback Stadium, among others.
The firm representatives offered several ideas for the renovations, such as dropping the seating floor and stage to street level, or raising the roof and reinforcing it to add space. They also suggested adding onto the sides and rear of the building to make more ways for patrons to move through the building.
Representatives also noted the possibility of adding a restaurant or bar to take advantage of the river views.
Ennead Architects, with Polk Stanley Wilcox, noted their work on several major projects: the Clinton Presidential Center, renovations to Carnegie Hall in New York City, the Oklahoma City Civic Center Music Hall, the recently finished Stanford Orchestra Hall in Palo Alto, Calif., and the El Dorado Convention Center.
Ennead representatives said they’d also like to see an exhibit room or ballroom in the back of the building that takes advantage of the river view. Their preliminary proposal includes renovating green space and looking at ways to add more modern features to the facade while keeping the current column structure, making the center what they called a “gateway” for the city.
Martinez and Johnson noted several large projects that they and their partner firms have worked on, including the Boston Opera House, the David H. Koch Theater at the Lincoln Center in New York City, the Howard Theater in Washington, D.C., and the Peabody Opera House in St. Louis. The team has also worked on the Camp Aldersgate Commons building and the forthcoming 12th Street Little Rock police substation.
Some of the group’s suggestions involved a see-through addition to the building to draw people inside, finding ways to better use space now used for loading and parking by making it into a cafe or waiting area for pedestrians. They also suggested ways to move the audience closer to the theater stage and widen the stage, as well as installing adjustable softening measures for the acoustics.
The fourth partner group, Witsell Evans Rasco and LMN, noted projects including the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts in San Antonio, the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts in Memphis, the Arkansas Repertory Theater in Little Rock and the Marion Oliver McCaw Hall in Seattle.
The firms focused on their desire to integrate the building into the community by engaging public art and lighting on several surfaces, as well as extending the back plaza to meet Riverfront Park. They also noted their West Coast expertise in retrofitting buildings for earthquake standards.
Arkansas, Pages 11 on 11/30/2012