Toronto Firm Unveils Minnesota Orchestra Hall Expansion

Toronto-based architecture firm Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg has unveiled schematic designs for the renovation and expansion of the Minnesota Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, US.

The Minnesota Orchestra has so far raised $38m for the project, which aims to create public lobby spaces and an exterior link connecting the hall to the city outside.

The $40m renovation reinstated the iconic design elements of the original design while doubling the hall’s lobby space and increasing lobby circulation with the addition of two exterior terraces.

Backstage areas will undergo renovations and the lighting and sound systems in the auditorium will be updated.

London-based Sound Space Design will undertake acoustics management during the renovation, according to artdaily.org.

The new hall is expected to open in 2013.