Designing for Performance: Cesar Pelli at DePaul University

DePaul University's new Theatre School, designed by the firm Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, is the newest in a succession of distinguished performance spaces in Chicago. Like that of its predecessors, the theatre's design responds to a specific set of requirements and its historical moment, addressing function but also displaying a distinctive character and aesthetic.  Each design represents a process from abstract idea to concrete form, working out tensions and compromises among a host of variables, including function, site and envelope, and budget. This exhibition salutes the museum’s new neighbor in the rapidly developing Fullerton Arts Corridor by looking at the design process for the new theatre school: how the building accommodates both teaching and performance, and how the architects resolved the complex and challenging problems it presented.  

For assistance with the exhibition we thank Professor Tamsen Anderson of the University of New Mexico;  the architectural firm Pelli Clarke Pelli of New Haven, and in particular Katy Harp; Robert Shook of Schuler Shook Theatre Planners; John Culbert, Dean of the Theatre School; and Zachary McDermott Sigelko and Alisa Smith from DePaul’s Office of Advancement.