Ohio Theatre Project Wins 2022 AIA Columbus Architecture Award

RKA received a Merit Award for Architectural Detail from the Columbus chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA Columbus) for the Ohio Theatre Loge, Mezzanine, and Balcony Renovation Project! CAPA is pleased with the improvements that enhanced patron comfort and mobility throughout the renovated Loge, Mezzanine, and Balcony.

From the jury:

“The jury commends this design team for thoughtfully restoring the Ohio Theatre. Its contemporary use of material and the fabrication method deployed produced a harmonious intervention. In addition to its careful documentation and changes to improve aisles and uneven floor conditions, the handrail additions are particularly noteworthy. The theater originally utilized cast metal elements with great depth and richness, which is not economically viable today. As a creative alternative, the design team produced new rails through the innovative use of flat steel plates, cut and assembled in a manner that yields a surprisingly three-dimensional illusion. Of particular note, at the cross-aisle guardrails, the turning of the elements at a 45-degree angle creates a striking sense of depth and solidity. This is a good example of a project designing with an economy of means and a clever use of cost-effective modern steel construction technology that respects and pays homage to the aesthetics of a bygone era.”

Check out more about this project at the Rogers Krajnak Website:
https://rogerskrajnak.com/community/2013/001-CAPA-Ohio-Theatre-Loge-Renovation.htm

Additional images and drawings are featured at this link from the AIA Columbus Awards website:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/127125088@N05/sets/72177720302475702/

Award-Winning Ohio Theatre Renovation Project

Rogers Krajnak Architects (RKA) congratulates Construction Systems Inc. (CSI) for receiving the 2021 Build Ohio Award from the Associated General Contractors of Ohio for the Ohio Theatre Loge, Mezzanine and Balcony Renovation.  Established in 1991, the Build Ohio Award recognizes contractors for construction excellence in project management, client service, craftsmanship, innovation in construction techniques and materials.  The complexity of this RKA designed project involved reshaping the curved, sloped, and uneven rows in the Loge seating areas and cross aisles, relocating stepped aisles, and installing custom fabricated handrails and seating in a limited window of time while the theatre was unoccupied.  Along with the new custom fabricated handholds that were installed in the stepped aisles of the Mezzanine and Balcony, the project improved patron safety in all of these seating areas of this historic theatre.  RKA applauds the great teamwork with RKA, CSI and CAPA!

See more about this project on our website here:
https://www.rogerskrajnak.com/community/2013/001-CAPA-Ohio-Theatre-Loge-Renovation.htm

Ohio Theatre Renovation

 RKA celebrates with the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts (CAPA) the successful completion of the renovation of the Loge, Mezzanine, and Balcony seating areas in the historic Ohio Theatre. The goal of the renovation project was to improve patron safety and comfort while maintaining the architectural, acoustical, and theatrical integrity of the landmark theatre.  RKA studied various options for revisions to the cross aisles, stepped aisles, and the seating configuration in the Loge, and the installation of custom designed handrails, guardrails, and hand holds in the Loge, Mezzanine and Balcony. Utilizing 3D computer modeling, RKA modeled all of the new handrails, guardrails and hand holds and confirmed that the sightlines in the theatre are maintained. 

By abstracting the profiles of various components of the theatre’s original railings, RKA created new custom designed steel handrails, guardrails and hand holds which were fabricated with steel plates to create a modern, code compliant, and economical solution. Modifications were made to the sloped and warped concrete flooring areas and new carpeting was installed.  In addition to the improved safety for theatre patrons, the project resulted in the addition of ten new seats in the center of the Loge.  Thanks to Construction Systems, Inc. and CAPA for another great collaboration on this successful project.

 

Resurrected

RKA is featured in the December 2017 issue of Columbus CEO article about “Old churches find new uses in creative renovations”.  The following is excerpted from that article:

The sheer size of some sanctuaries can make them difficult to repurpose, says Peter Krajnak of the Rogers Krajnak Architects Inc. firm in Downtown Columbus. “The key is to find the right scale for the potential future use,” says Krajnak, a specialist in the design, expansion and renovation of churches. “So many spaces are so cavernous they become difficult to illuminate and to provide proper climate control.” That can make redeveloping a property for residential particularly difficult and expensive.

Krajnak said sanctuaries also are designed to carry sound well. “To create a quiet space can be a challenge,” he says.

Krajnak will not have to figure out how to mitigate that aspect of the sanctuary of the Central Presbyterian Church at 132 S. Third St. as a consultant to performance arts venue operator CAPA. The nonprofit bought the property for $589,000 in June 2013 as a future concert hall.

CAPA, the owner/operator of the venerable Palace Theatre and Ohio Theatre Downtown, bought the property about 19 months after the congregation ceased worshipping in the building, the original use dating back to 1857.

CAPA CEO Chad Whittington says the arts organization has yet to ask designers to put together a detailed plan for the property as it first concentrates on fundraising for the 2018 renovation projects at the Ohio and Palace. “It’s important to have a good plan in place,” Whittington says, comparing the venue to the Southern Theatre restoration and renovation completed in the late 1990s.


The former church will, after eventual renovations, have seating for up to 400. “The structure itself is set up very well for how we operate in the performing arts arena,” Whittington says. “We can take the hall (sanctuary) and freshen it up for use in smaller concerts and recitals.”

RKA Designs new Orchestra Shell for the Ohio Theatre

CAPA commissioned Rogers Krajnak Architects to design the new orchestra shell for the Ohio Theatre.  “Our goal was to provide a shell that would deliver superior acoustics to both musicians and audiences while reflecting the stunning décor of the Ohio Theatre,” stated CAPA President and CEO Bill Conner. “The end result far exceeds our expectations in functionality, beauty, and acoustics, and was well worth the time and investment.”

The new shell is an interconnected system of movable ceiling panels with ribs and lightweight towers with shelves. Together with the forestage reflector (the eyebrow that extends beyond the proscenium arch), these components provide strategic reflections of sound back to the musicians on stage and into the audience in the hall.  The arrangement of the towers and two rows of horizontal acoustical shelves allow the shell to be tuned to best fit the number of musicians on stage and the works being performed.

Aesthetically, the shell was designed to be in harmony with the opulent interior of the Ohio Theatre.  After studying the elaborate three dimensional ornamentation of the 1928 Baroque-style Ohio Theatre, Rogers Krajnak Architects created the two dimensional decoration that was meticulously applied to the shell.  Much of the shell’s adornment was abstracted from the theatre’s wainscoting, cast plaster ornamentation and gilded coves.  The gold stars on the forestage reflector, ceiling panels and towers were abstracted from the ceiling of the theater to continue the visual grandeur onto the stage.

RKA working with CAPA

CAPA has hired Rogers Krajnak Architects for two projects at the Southern Theatre and the Riffe Center Studio Theatre Two. The project at the Southern Theatre is the removal of a former sound control booth and the renovation of that area into additional seating at House Left. The project at the Riffe Center is the addition of new handrails in the aisles of Studio Theatre Two.