Vancouver Concert Hall and Theatre Society announces Diamond Schmitt as consultant group for Cultural Precinct Feasibility Study
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Ballet BC, and DanceHouse are among 14 performing-arts organizations pushing for major new facility
Artists of Ballet BC. Photo by Marcus Eriksson
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (detail).
THE VANCOUVER CONCERT Hall and Theatre Society has retained Diamond Schmitt to undertake a feasibility study for a new three-theatre cultural precinct in Vancouver.
The move is a major first step forward for a longtime proposal for new performing arts facilities in Vancouver, including a concert hall, recital hall, and opera/ballet hall, all with advanced acoustics.
It is supported by 14 performing arts organizations: Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Opera, Ballet BC, DanceHouse, Vancouver Recital Society, Vancouver Chamber Choir, Vancouver Bach Choirs, Early Music Vancouver, Chor Leoni, Vancouver Chopin Society, Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Youth Choir, City Opera Vancouver, and Coastal Jazz and Blues Society. All of these groups, with more to come, urgently need additional and improved facilities.
Diamond Schmitt is a nationwide architectural firm founded in 1975 and headquartered in Toronto.
Besides providing acoustically superior venues for orchestral and chamber music, the complex’s proscenium hall would fill the gap when it comes to venues that can accommodate the needs of dance in a theatre size that is currently nonexistent in Vancouver (1,200 seats).
“A symphonic concert hall can’t have a fly tower or a proscenium, because the acoustic properties are all wrong. And opera, ballet, dance, all need a proscenium hall,” Jim Smith, artistic and executive director of DanceHouse, previously told Stir.
While DanceHouse has long held successful productions at the 668-seat Vancouver Playhouse, Smith noted that its design is not ideal: “In venues that are more conducive for dance, you would have significant wing space on both sides of the stage,” he said. “You would have nothing but a curtain at the back that the audience would see, and then you’d have the same amount of the stage space behind the curtain to allow for things like changing of sets, props, and production personnel.”
The creation of a cultural precinct will not only provide new performance venues for these organizations but will also provide more capacity, freeing up space at current civic venues like the Orpheum and Playhouse, which are in greater demand than ever. The idea has been pursued by various city councils, societies, and arts groups for decades, starting in 1993 with a now-defunct move by the city to secure a site in Coal Harbour for an arts complex.
The feasibility study will encompass an Indigenous and public consultation, a business case, and possible locations. It is the beginning of an ambitious and complex process, with the goal of building facilities to showcase Vancouver’s wealth of performing arts organizations.
“I am thrilled to see the Vancouver Concert Hall and Theatre Society kick off this exciting first step in their plan,” mayor Ken Sim says in a news release. Developing new performing arts facilities is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the incredible talent we have right here in Vancouver and elevate our city as a global centre for the arts. This initiative is about more than just the arts – it’s about solidifying Vancouver as a world-class city for both visitors and residents alike.”
Suzanne Anton, chair of the VCHTS, says she is pleased about this first step in the process coming to fruition. "The many performing arts organizations in this initiative are united in their belief that we need new acoustically superb facilities in Vancouver, to form a cultural precinct which will become an outstanding part of downtown Vancouver,” she says. 
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