by ArchitectureWeek

How do you create a temporary theater on a miniscule budget? And make sure that the construction materials will be undamaged and reusable at the end of the performance space's ten-day life? One way is to start with a vacant warehouse and add plenty of ingenuity, generosity, and collaboration.

In the fall of 2004, when the Portland (Oregon) Institute for Contemporary Arts (PICA) needed a theater for a ten-day international arts festival, eight volunteers from the staff of BOORA Architects put their heads together and came up with a solution. In the shell of a gritty industrial warehouse, they designed a fully functional theater with walls of visqueen and ingenious seating crafted from plastic buckets and carpet tiles.

The festival, "Time-Based Art" (TBA:04), could spend no more than $10,000 to create the performance space. Within the large, vacant warehouse loaned to them by Machineworks, LLC, they also wanted a smaller cabaret stage, a cafe, and a bar.

The architects from BOORA relished the challenge. Lead designer Michael Tingley says: "It's always fun when a team of architects gets the opportunity to roll up their sleeves and engage in making something directly, not having products be confined to paper and scale models."   >>>

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Four steel columns in an industrial warehouse frame the temporary arts festival stage for the Portland (Oregon) Institute for Contemporary Arts. The performance space was designed by eight volunteers from the staff of BOORA Architects. Photo: Sally Schoolmaster The internal illumination of the media wall creates a glowing presence in contrast to the gritty industrial shell. Photo: Sally Schoolmaster   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.