14 DIGS.NET | 8.16.2019
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unctionally, the expansion enhanced CIM's
performance and instructional capabilities,
but the optics of this project are clear—the
place is a showpiece, insinuating itself dramatically,
yet utterly without conceit. at it does is a brilliant
calculation on the part of architect Charles T. Young,
acoustician Akustiks and design consultant eatre
Projects. e latter has worked on a vast 1,500
innovative, arts-centric projects in 80 countries, and
its founder, Richard Pilbrow, established the present
incarnation of the company when he was asked to
serve as consultant for a new theater complex in
London for the National eatre of Great Britain—
at the behest of the late Sir Laurence Olivier. In
visioning the design and planning of the 250-seat
Mixon Hall, eatre Projects has another encore in
the performance space.
ough a smaller project than is typical for
eatre Projects, Mixon Hall is substantial in
architectural thinking and radiant to the gaze.
With a sweep of open space and wood slatted
side walls concealing the building's sophisticated
technology infrastructure, the building strikes a
clean, minimal profile. "Mixon Hall's modern look,
tied in with the 1960s-style modern pavilion that is
the main CIM building, offers a beautiful contrast
to the space's bright and airy interior," offers Eric
Bower, senior vice president, Cleveland Institute
of Music. e beauty of the wooden interior, he
adds, is an element that creates "an aesthetic that's
rare in many of today's arts performance spaces"
where the tendency is toward a certain theatrical
extravagance. is streamlining not only draws the
eye to stage, but just past it, to the large expanses of
glass that frame an extraordinary view of lush plant
life indigenous to Northeast Ohio—hemlocks, red
buds, red maples and dogwoods, a symphony of
trees and shrubs.
is site was always meant to be seen, with the
architect insisting nature be part of performances.
"Whichever season it is–spring, summer, fall or
winter–nature is part of every note you hear in Mixon Hall,"
affirms Bower, who reflects on Mixon's opening concert
featuring world-renowned pianist Sergei Babayan, a faculty
member at CIM, who played Debussy's Clair de Lune,
which means "light of the moon" in French. "I was in the
audience… it was stunning to look outside as Sergei played
and actually see the light of the moon." Equally magical: "In
the winter, you can sometimes see snow swirling outside,
giving the impression that Mixon Hall is in a large snow
globe." Such is the beauty of nature. cim.edu
INSPIRED BY THE
LANDSCAPE OF
NORTHERN OHIO,
MIXON HALL IS A
COMPOSITION OF
NATURE'S BEAUTY
AND MODERN
ARCHITECTURAL
THOUGHT.
TOGETHER, THESE
ELEMENTS BRING A
SENSE OF POETRY
TO INSTITUTIONAL
DESIGN.
