Grimshaw: performing arts centre, Troy, New York, USA

Architectural Review, The, April, 2008

Founded in 1824 'for the purpose of instructing persons ... in the application of science to the common purposes of life', the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is one of the most venerable science universities in the US. From its leafy campus at Troy in upstate New York it exports science and technology graduates to the world.

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In 2001 Grimshaw won a competition for Rensselaer's Experimental Media and Performing Arts Centre (EMPAC), which is due to open later this year. Conceived as a point of intersection between artists and researchers in science and technology, the $142 million centre aims to consolidate Rensselaer's reputation for excellence and experimentation in the electronic arts. Under one roof it will host intercollegiate competitions and exchanges, house shows and concerts, and provide a state of the art venue for international performers.

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Positioned on a buff overlooking the Hudson River, the building exploits its sloping site by bringing together the huge volumes of the 1200 seat concert hall and 400 seat theatre and partly sinking them into the hill. In a predominantly low-rise campus, this helps to minimise bulk. The arrangement also creates a labyrinth of interstitial and promenading spaces around the main volumes which are loosely enclosed in a glazed box to cultivate a sense of connection with the wider world. In addition it helps with acoustic separation.

Wrapped in a moulded hull faced with cedar strips, the curved volume of the large concert hall resembles a great boat docked in the hillside. Designed to accommodate orchestras as well as electronically-generated sound and video projection, the concert hall is configured traditionally, as a long narrow room. Supported on a delicate web of stainless-steel cables, its innovative acoustic ceiling consists of fabric panels less than one millimetre thick. Running parallel with the concert hall on its south side, a secondary rectangular wing contains digital studios and shields the glazed box from heat gain.A rippling roof lightly envelops the entire composition. C. S.

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As these up and coming projects demonstrate, the creative ferment of overseas architects working in the US looks set to continue. Some, such as Zaha Hadid's new art museum for Michigan State University (p72) are still on the drawing board, fresh from a competition win, while others, such as Daniel Libeskind's Jewish Museum in San Francisco (p76) and Nicholas Grimshaw's new performing arts centre for the Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute (p70), are nearly complete. Significantly, all are for cultural or educational client bodies who are perhaps willing to take more risks with the kind of buildings they want. It does not mean that American architects are not up to the job, but sometimes a more adventurous non-local sensibility can suggest and see through more innovative ways of doing things.