AND AUERBACH GLASOW
COMPLETE THEATRE CONSULTING
AND ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING DESIGN ON
COPIA: THE AMERICAN CENTER FOR
WINE, FOOD AND THE ARTS
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (February 11, 2003) - AUERBACH POLLOCK FRIEDLANDER, Performing Arts/Media Facilities Planning and Design, San Francisco, New York, Minneapolis and Auerbach Glasow, Architectural Lighting Design and Consulting, announce the completion of their work on COPIA: The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts, in Napa, California.
COPIA, founded by Napa winemaker Robert Mondavi, is a cultural museum and educational center dedicated to exploring the distinctively American contribution to the character of wine, food and the arts. The 80,000 square foot center is located on a bend of the Napa River, and is surrounded by extensive culinary gardens.
AUERBACH POLLOCK FRIEDLANDER provided theatre consulting for the 280-seat presentation theatre, which is equipped for lectures, small, intimate performances and multi-media presentations. The firm also provided design and configuration for the 80-seat Meyer Food Forum, COPIA's cooking demonstration theatre, which is equipped for multi-media presentations and live video recording.
AUERBACH GLASOW designed the architectural lighting for most of COPIA's interior and exterior spaces. Interior areas included in the lighting design are the main entrance, the crescent lobby and mezzanine gallery, the theatre, the Meyer Food forum, and the Core Exhibition Gallery and Changing Exhibitions Gallery. Major points of interest in the exterior lighting design include vegetable and herb gardens, the River Concert Terrace fronting the Napa River, and an allee of poplar trees.
The AUERBACH POLLOCK FRIEDLANDER team included S. Leonard Auerbach, ASTC, President; Steve Pollock, ASTC, Principal Designer and Principal-in-Charge; Adam Shalleck, AIA, Senior Associate, Project Manager and Designer; Darrell Haber, Audio/Video Systems Designer.
The AUERBACH GLASOW team included S. Leonard Auerbach, IALD, LC, President; Larry French, IALD, LC, Principal Designer and Principal-in-Charge; and Susan Porter, LC, Associate, Project Manager and Designer.
The design architect is Polshek Partnership Architects, LLP, New York. The Architect of record is Fong & Chan Architects, San Francisco. The Landscape Architect is Peter Walker & Partners, Berkeley, California.
FACT SHEET: AUERBACH POLLOCK FRIEDLANDER
AUERBACH POLLOCK FRIEDLANDER collaborated with Polshek Partnership, LLP to develop the performance and presentation spaces at COPIA. These include a 280-seat presentation and film auditorium, a 75-seat Meyer Food Forum demonstration and seminar room, and the River Concert Terrace, an outdoor performance space facing the Napa River. AUERBACH POLLOCK FRIEDLANDER also developed the concept for the building-wide audio and video systems. This effort brought together the interdisciplinary talents of the firm to provide COPIA with a multi-functional facility of the highest standard.
Theatre
The theatre is used for lectures, film/video screening, presentations and performances.
- The 280-seat theatre is located off the main entry to COPIA, and is accessible from the nearby group entry. The circulation also provides a direct connection to the upper floor, where the administration and founders rooms are located.
- The connection of the two floors allows the seating to have "stadium-style" unobstructed sightlines to the presentation area and projection screens. AUERBACH POLLOCK
FRIEDLANDER specified Theatre Solutions "Teatro Al" chairs, which are customized with improved aisle lighting and an architect-selected font for row and seat identification.
- AUERBACH POLLOCK FRIEDLANDER designed an extensive screen and masking system for the front film/slide and rear video projection screens. The system provides motorized preset adjustment of aspect ratios, and the ability to cover the screens entirely with architect-designed millwork.
- Room reverbation adjustment is provided with draperies that are deployed manually from pockets hidden in the sidewalls. The screen masking and acoustic drapery systems were provided by Protech Theatrical Services.
- The arched triangular trusses at the ceiling mimic the undulation of the roof form, and also serve to consolidate the house and presentation lighting positions. Lighting is controlled through simple presets and is integrated in the comprehensive A/V controller. An ETC Express 24/48 lighting console can be used for more sophisticated control.
The Food Forum is a seminar room with a demonstration kitchen that can be hidden behind tracked millwork panels.
- Overhead presentation lighting is mounted TV studio-style on a Unistrut grid hidden from audience view.
- Five fixed cameras and one remotely-operated pan-tilt-zoom camera provide the close-up video images of the chef's work area. The images are displayed on four large flat screen monitors.
- Rear and front projection screens and all A/V and lighting systems are controlled with a touchscreen integrated controller.
- The systems allow outside production companies to videotape demonstrations or send an event feed to the auditorium, which acts as an overflow seating area.
Accommodations for festivals and outdoor concerts in the Crescent Garden include extensive power connections and underground cable routes.
Building-Wide Audio/Video Programming
AUERBACH POLLOCK FRIEDLANDER facilitated and compiled a detailed A/V program and budget during the early planning stages of design, and outlined the necessary building accommodations.
AUERBACH GLASOW Press Release
