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Expectations

Though largely funded privately, the $274 million WDCH is owned by the County of Los Angeles. It has been heralded as a symbol of the area's diversity and egalitarian qualities, a testament to the city's cultural arrival, and the "crown jewel" of a $1.2 billion civic redevelopment project planned for the area.

This is Frank Gehry's first major public commission in his hometown and his most anticipated project since the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. Local officials hope that the WDCH will have a "Bilbao effect" of economic rejuvenation on a much-derided downtown.

Whether this hope will pan out remains to be seen. In the meantime, the county and one of the occupants, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, are pulling out all the stops to make the inaugural season a success, with massive publicity efforts and three opening galas. The WDCH will likely be the defining achievement for L.A. Philharmonic music director Esa-Pekka Salonen, as well as for the responsible local officials.

The project took 16 years to complete, required over 30,000 architectural drawings, and cost roughly twice the originally budgeted amount. The question on everyone's mind seems to be: is it worth it?

Intimacy and Inclusion

In addition to the philharmonic, The 293,000 square-foot (27,000-square-meter) WDCH is also the new home for the Los Angeles Master Chorale and the Roy and Edna Disney/Cal Arts Theater. At the building's center, both literally and figuratively, sits the 2,265-seat main auditorium.

According to Gehry, the WDCH was designed from the inside out. The most important issues were that "the musicians could come on stage, feel at home, and hear each other" and that "the orchestra and the audience would have an intimate connection with each other." He sought to create a "synergy" through intimacy and inclusion.

Intimate it is. Though essentially a rectangle, one would never know it to sit inside the sculpted Douglas fir and cedar auditorium. Swooping concave walls of staggered wood panels hold terraced seating in the "vineyard" layout made famous in the Berlin Philharmonie. The audience surrounds the stage, which is elevated slightly higher than the adjacent orchestra seats. The hall feels smaller and cozier than the number of seats might indicate.

Protesting the usual concert hall elitism, Salonen and Gehry included no private boxes. While ticket prices may inhibit some potential audience members, exclusive seating will not. Indeed, there does not seem to be a bad seat in the house. Each location is visually and acoustically unique.

A billowing wood ceiling hangs lightly over the space, strategically placed to achieve the early sound reflection that acoustician Toyota deemed so important. The warm wood, the molded forms, and the resultant vibrancy of sound combine to create the perception of being inside a living creature. The music is its pulse.

As some visiting performers have noted, the only drawback is that the creature makes noises of its own. A dropped program, a closing door, or a simple cough becomes part of the symphony in this acoustically energetic hall. (Kiosks dispensing complimentary cough drops have been added recently to the lobbies.) But this seems a small price to pay for the ability to hear an individual flute within the larger orchestra.

Controlling Chaos

Stepping outside the womb of the auditorium, the WDCH also houses an underground parking garage, preconcert foyer, green room and support spaces, two outdoor amphitheaters, and California's smallest state park on the 3.6-acre (1.5-hectare) site.

Gehry, a self-proclaimed control freak, stated that he continually strives to "control chaos and relate that to the urban world" and that he "loves pulling these chaotic forces together." This inevitably causes some collisions at the boundaries. The resulting in-between spaces are both the most engaging and the most awkward of the project.   >>>

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The Walt Disney Concert Hall by Frank Gehry, as seen from the corner of Grand Avenue and 1st Street. Tom Bonner Auditorium as seen from the pipe organ. Photo: Federico Zignani Founders' Room exterior, as seen from the garden. Photo: Tim Street-Porter Lobby level floor plan, Disney Concert Hall, by Frank Gehry. Image: Gehry Partners Orchestra level floor plan, Disney Concert Hall, by Frank Gehry. Image: Gehry Partners Gallery level floor plan, Disney Concert Hall, by Frank Gehry. Image: Gehry Partners Longitudinal section, Disney Concert Hall, by Frank Gehry. Image: Gehry Partners Building cross section, Disney Concert Hall, by Frank Gehry. Image: Gehry Partners   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.