Blue Grass studio with Organschi

1. BLUE GRASS MUSIC FESTIVAL CENTER
Amenia, New York5
Critic: Alan Organschi
Program
This bluegrass performance
center captures the communal
and social essence of the
bluegrass gatherings.
At bluegrass festivals, people
drive from all over the country
to go to these events. They
come to celebrate their love of
music. Many in the audience
know each other from other
festivals, or from talking during
intervals, or at nights at their
campsites. There is a friendly,
communal, almost family-like
atmoshpere at these events.
This project seeks to
encourage and facilitate this
type of atmosphere.
Since this site is the final
destination to very long
journeys, the approach
sequence is very important.
The buildings and performance
areas are located on a rise.
Approaching from the road
to the entrance, the large
auditorium serves as a beacon
to guide visitors to the
bluegrass performance center.
From the parking lot, the
opening between two buildings
signals the entry of the center
Once within the courtyard, the
two interior auditoria frame the
outdoor courtyard performance
space.The framed view of the
scenic valley beyond,
establishes the ultimate
relation between the visitor
and site.
This bluegrass center seeks to
address the conventions and
requirements of bluegrass
gatherings. Bluegrass festivals
are organized around
performance. Typically, each
festival has a large
performance. Simultaneously,
smaller performances are
space, integrating the
procession to the site and
signifying important internal
spaces through massing was
inspired by studies of Alvar
Aalto's Saynatsalo Town Hall.
The buildings of this bluegrass
performance center form an
open courtyard which is where
the annual outdoor
performance takes place.
These structures were
designed to form and frame
this outdoor area -- to
emphasize and facilitate the
communal atmosphere. All the
auxilliary activities of the
festival take place within the
surrounding structures. Within
these structures people can
watch the performance
outdoors, eat in the cafe,
attend indoor performances, or
walk into the other buildings to
participate in impromptu music
workshops. The courtyard thus
distributed within the grounds.
Even smaller impromptu
sessions of performers and
visitors take place by the
campsites.
The strategy for incorporating
the landscape into the building,
creating a communal central
serves as a central point where
people can gather and then
disperse at their leisure to
pursue other activities.
The short and long term
musicians' housing is
located above the restaurant
for resident artist wishing to.
record music. Their privacy is
maintained by a separate
entrance and parking lot for
their accomodations at the
rear of the complex.

2. The buildings of the bluegrass
center form a courtyard which
is where the outdoor festival
performances takes place. The
large and small auditorium
structures were designed to
form and frame this outdoor
area -- to emphasize and
facilitate the communal
atmosphere. People can watch
the performance outdoors or
walk into the other buildings to
participate in impromptu music
workshops.
BLUEGRASS CENTER
PERFORMANCE COURTYARD
7 8

3. BLUEGRASS CENTER
PLANS + SECTIONS
A A'
B B'

4. 8
BLUEGRASS CENTER
MODELS
The light models (bottom)
show the green room's views.
The green room, which serves
the two auditoria and the
outdoor performance stage is
embedded in the earth.