Sun Valley Music Pavilion
Sun Valley, Idaho
The open air concert hall at Idaho’s Sun Valley Resort is a unique venue, combining a soaring, peaked stage structure with a seasonal/removable tensile fabric canopy and support structure. In the shadow of the resort’s signature Bald Mountain backdrop, audiences of up to 4,000 enjoy world class events, from pop acts to classical entertainment in a setting in harmony with the rugged beauty of the Rockies. The new facility was designed and built in less than 18 months.
As the Sun Valley Symphony’s new summer home, the Pavilion also hosts popular music events. To accommodate a broad range of artists, its concert ceiling provides traditional acoustic shaping for classical music, while providing infrastructure required for popular amplified acts. A series of curved wood reflectors provides overhead acoustic support as well as the appropriate visual aesthetic. The range of acoustical requirements and accommodations for symphony concert lighting – all in an elegant and integrated design – were key requirements, tempered by the reality that the venue would be partially warehoused during ski season.
Auerbach Pollock Friedlander was responsible for refining the original seating plan, improving sightlines and audience access. The firm also collaborated on the integrated design of the sophisticated concert ceiling, its hoists and lighting systems, all of which had to be demountable. The support structure, an arrangement of curved metal trusses, forms the skeleton of the ceiling, complementing the permanent steel roof structure. Within the trusses, a series of self-climbing winches free the overhead roof structure from the visual clutter of the large motors and associated rigging. Wood acoustic reflectors are individually framed and easily removed for storage. Trusses may be stored at stage level or brought up to the roof. Winches have covers and heater blankets to prevent damage during the winter.
The ceiling design also includes an array of structural hanging points, accommodating rock ‘n roll trusses for popular entertainment. Show power and control links allow touring companies to install temporary gear as well as pre-rigged lighting trusses and equipment in the Pavilion’s permanent installation.
Auerbach Glasow French designed the architectural lighting.
Design Architect: FTL Design Engineering Studio
Architect of Record: RLB Ruscitto/Latham/Blanton Architectura
Acoustics: Jaffe Holden
Photography: Kevin Syms