The Missouri Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners commissioned IAA to design an amphitheater stage for Hodge Park. Flexibility was paramount in order to accommodate outdoor performances ranging from book readings to dinner theater, concerts and ballet recitals.
Taking cues from the natural slope of the site and landscape, IAA proposed a semi-circular performance ‘portico’ structure located at the low point of the grade. This placement results in unobstructed views to the stage. Copper-clad dome panels nest within an expressive support frame defined by an innovative system of curved trusses resting on radial beams. The curved beams are dynamically held in place by concealed connections to pipe columns, threaded between the beam members. Cylindrical, cast-concrete piers complete the eclectic composition of classical and contemporary architectural forms.
