MCALLEN, Texas, Nov. 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- ERO
Architects, the Hispanic-owned award-winning architectural firm,
this week is celebrating the opening of its hometown McAllen
Performing Arts Center with VIP and community events, and is
presenting Tony award-winning Annie as the center's premiere
Broadway production.
ERO Architects led the $45
million, 1,828-seat theater design and build process of the
Rio Grande Valley's largest, most modern, and
technologically-advanced theater with design support from Holzman
Moss Bottino Architects, a New York
City-based firm with cutting-edge theater design
experience.
"The McAllen Performing Arts Center is going to be a place of
memories, where our community can watch great performances from
national organizations as well as their kids on a stage that could
compete with venues in New York,
Chicago, or any big city in
Texas," said McAllen Mayor Jim
Darling. "This is a truly special place unique to things we
are proud of in the Valley. This is going to be an award-winning
building."
"Our theater design tells a story grounded in south Texas," said Eli
Ochoa, president and CEO of ERO Architects. "It reflects our
firm's design philosophy, to tie a building's aesthetics to the
culture and environment of its community. Our primary design
metaphors of palm trees and the Indigo Bunting migratory bird
combine to make this a home for all people and cultures of Valley
communities."
ERO Architects drew inspiration for the PAC's exterior walls
from complex, intricately woven trunks of stout, sturdy native palm
trees common to McAllen, the city
of palms. The walls can be lit with different colors to reflect the
seasons and special events and serve as a landmark for the city's
convention center area.
The lobby welcomes all visitors with colors and vibrancy of the
migratory Indigo Bunting, a brilliant, iridescent blue songbird
which travels through the Valley, to Mexico and beyond, before returning to
heartland America and Canada each
spring. Richly hued seating and curtain materials base their colors
from local McAllen bougainvilleas
while detailed millwork pays homage to native Texas mesquite and pecan trees.
Doug Moss, a partner with
New York City-based Holzman Moss Bottino architects, was part of a
unique effort that united Texas
with Big Apple performance meccas. "Our office worked with ERO
Architects throughout the process and our focus was to make the
interior a little jewel box that transforms you for an evening's
performance," Moss said. "All the implications of the flora and
fauna as it relates to the Valley are something you will not find
anywhere else in the country."
The stage amazes the eye at more than eight stories tall and 1½
times the size of a professional basketball court. The audience
feels the immensity of a space that could contain the volume of 20
Olympic-sized swimming pools, having the effect of making every
production feel as large as Texas.
Computer programs adjust more than 10,000 square feet of acoustic
fabric on the walls and ceiling to accentuate the sounds of the
Valley Symphony or Broadway musical troupes. The interior arches
are solid pecan wood acoustic reflectors which produce smooth, even
sound.
Adam Epstein, the chief executive
officer of Innovation Arts and Entertainment, commented on the
venue's draw. "The stage, building and facility will bring the
exact and biggest shows that are playing on Broadway. Nothing will
be compromised in terms of show production due to venue limitation.
This is one of the most exciting days in my company's 15-year
history because it's something we've worked on, to build an
audience for Broadway with a facility that can host the
best."
In addition to Annie, the Valley community can enjoy December
performances from Tony Bennett and
ELF: The Broadway Musical. In early 2017, Mama Mia, Jersey Boys,
Dirty Dancing, and Greater Tuna performances will entertain at the
McAllen Performing Arts Center.
About ERO Architects
Since 2001, ERO Architects has completed more than 200
public-sector projects, winning many awards along the way. Founder
and managing partner Eli R. Ochoa, PE, AIA, a native of
the Rio Grande Valley, established this multi-disciplinary firm to
specialize in the public sector because of his strong belief that
architectural design can impact public environments and user
experiences. The Hispanic-owned firm built its reputation on its
vision to transform architecture by respecting the land, people and
history of a community into its designs. ERO Architects' clients
become partners in the planning and development of each design,
thus meeting the goals and needs of each community's unique
identity. For more information about ERO go
to www.goero.com and call 956.655.4655.
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SOURCE ERO Architects