{"id":1045,"date":"2025-09-24T19:03:30","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T19:03:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scientificmediagroup.com\/?p=1045"},"modified":"2025-10-02T16:19:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T16:19:12","slug":"snohetta-completes-arched-extension-to-st-louis-powell-hall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.scientificmediagroup.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/24\/snohetta-completes-arched-extension-to-st-louis-powell-hall\/","title":{"rendered":"Sn\u00f8hetta completes arched extension to St Louis’ Powell Hall"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"St<\/div>\n

Architecture studio Sn\u00f8hetta<\/a> has completed a sculptural addition<\/a> to the home of St Louis Symphony Orchestra in St Louis<\/a>, USA, while revamping<\/a> historical interiors and creating a public-facing plaza.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sn\u00f8hetta<\/a> restored and expanded Powell Hall, adding a series of arched forms that hug the side of the historic building, which was designed in the early 20th century by Rapp & Rapp as a movie palace, before becoming the home of the St Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLO) in the 1960s.<\/p>\n

The addition expands the space toward the street, and holds circulation, an expanded lobby, educational spaces and back-of-house facilities. Its form was conceived of as complementary to the existing building.<\/p>\n

“The new expansion was conceived not as an add-on, but as a complementary ‘dance partner’ to Powell Hall \u2013 gently leaning against it and smaller in scale, to preserve the original building\u2019s iconic silhouette,” Sn\u00f8hetta director Takeshi Tornier told Dezeen.<\/p>\n

\"Exterior
Sn\u00f8hetta has completed an extension to the home of St Louis Symphony Orchestra<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sn\u00f8hetta also designed a public plaza for public programming and carpool, which leads visitors up towards the arching forms of the new structure, with its expansive panes of glass framed by a canted shell that comes to points at the apex.<\/p>\n

According to Sn\u00f8hetta founding partner Craig Dykers the building was designed with direct reference to musical instruments. The “arcing windows” were informed by the waist of a violin and “mimicking the path of the conductor\u2019s baton as they lead the orchestra”.<\/p>\n

\"Front
A public plaza fronts the arched extension<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The facade is made up of corbeled masonry designed, specifically according to Dykers, for beauty in the winter months, layered with snow. The slope too angles eyes toward the sky, negating what Dykers called the “alienating” effect of the current building.<\/p>\n

“We aimed to break with the existing building’s vertical massing. This verticality has been perceived as somewhat alienating over the years, particularly along the facades of Grand and Delmar Boulevards,” Dykers told Dezeen.<\/p>\n

“Leaning the facades toward the sky provides a softer visual language, especially in connection with the scalloped forms in plan.”<\/p>\n

\"Staircase
A grand staircase links to the existing historical structure<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When asked about the juxtaposition in styles between the Beaux-Arts building, Dykers said that while formal elements such as grand open spaces and massing were references to the original, the addition was intended to stand apart and show the time frames of the structure and institution.<\/p>\n

He compared this gesture to archaeology.<\/p>\n

“While there are simple details in the new wing, the general atmosphere is very dynamic and sculptural, inspired by the lobbies and hall of the existing building,” he said.<\/p>\n