OVER the Top

Overture team clears first hurdle

The Overture Center for the Arts - Phase One

By Jeanne Wieland

Photo courtesy of Kraemer Brothers LLC

The Overture Center for the Arts in Madison opened its doors in September, bringing a new performance venue to the state's capital city.

The opening capped six years of preparation, from the time businessman W. Jerome Frautschi announced he would make a multimillion-dollar gift to the community for the facility to the actual construction of the center. Along the way, the project brought together people from a variety of design disciplines to create the state-of-the-art showcase Frautschi had in mind for the downtown area.

Jim Yehle, project manager for J.H. Findorff & Son Inc., said the Overture Center presented a unique opportunity for everyone involved.

"You don't build a lot of performing arts centers," he said. "It's hard to find a team of people with experience in that."

In addition, the construction of such a facility requires types of assistance not typically needed on more standard projects.

"We had a theater consultant, an acoustic consultant, a color consultant, a curtain-wall consultant," Yehle said. "We needed a lot of design team collaboration."

The center was built on a full city block in the heart of Madison's central business district, just blocks away from the state Capitol. Demolition of existing buildings was carefully coordinated to let nearby neighbors continue operation during the project, and although space around the site was extremely limited, crews were able to work within the constraints to get the project completed.

The historic Yost-Kessenich store façade was retained to become the main entrance for the Overture Center, and a multilevel lobby with a glass curtain wall and modern dome was added. Architects with Cesar Pelli & Associates teamed with two Madison-based firms, Potter Lawson Inc. and Flad & Associates, to create the center, which features multiple performance, rehearsal and reception spaces.

The massive glass curtain wall in the lobby was one of the most challenging aspects of the project, Yehle said. At 17 feet by 9 feet each, the 91 glass panes each weighed in excess of 2,300 pounds, the largest glass panels in any building in the world, he said.

	Project Name: The Overture Center for the Arts - Phase One Location: Madison Submitting Company: J.H. Findorff & Son Inc., Madison General Contractor: J.H. Findorff & Son Inc. Architects: Cesar Pelli & Associates, Connecticut and New York; Potter Lawson Inc., Madison; Flad & Associates, Madison Engineer: Thornton Tomasetti Engineers, offices worldwide Owner: Overture Development Corp., Madison Project Cost: $110 million Start Date: June 2001 Completion Date: September 2004

Overture Hall seats 2,253 people and features the 30-ton Madison Symphony Orchestra pipe organ, which was custom-built for the center. The hall was designed with wavelike, acoustically transparent shapes in the ceiling to maximize the quality of the sound.

All parties involved in the Overture Center project made efforts to recycle as much material as possible. More than 74 percent of the building material was recycled or reused, a huge leap from the typical 2 percent in traditional demolition.

Yehle said the project also was unique because it was built on a fast-track scale, meaning construction began before the design development drawings were
complete.

"It was a challenge to coordinate the drawings and the updates," he said.

Still, the team persevered.

"Everyone just rolled up their sleeves and got the job done," he added.

And although the first phase of the Overture Center for the Arts is complete, phase two continues. It will add more performing arts theaters and a new Madison Museum of Contemporary Art to the facility.