Edit position

Last set 2 weeks, 5 days ago. Manual moves override automatic placement until the next shelfie/spine match.

Buildings for the performing arts : a design and development guide

by Ian Appleton

This text provides guidance on the planning, design, and construction of performing arts facilities. It outlines development stages, feasibility requirements, and decision-making processes for both new and adapted buildings.

Accession 9780750668354 ISBN 9780750668354 Publisher Routledge

Book Images

Reference and live side by side Hover to see live images

Reference

Buildings for the performing arts : a design and development guide spine

Buildings for the performing arts : a design and development guide cover

Live

No live

CONNECTIONS

No connections

State

on_shelf: True
position_updated_at: 2026-05-05 17:12
orientation: vertical

Details

Physical

binding_type: Hard Back
dimensions: none captured
spine_text: BUILDINGS FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS APPLETON

LOCATION HISTORY

C 1 Current vertical

2 months, 1 week ago

B 3 vertical

2 months, 4 weeks ago

B 4 vertical

2 months, 4 weeks ago

B 3 vertical

3 months, 2 weeks ago

B 3 vertical

5 months, 2 weeks ago

Book Location

Updated 2 weeks, 5 days ago

Book Images

Reference and live side by side Hover to see live images

Reference

Live

No live

Vernon snapshot

Frozen copy of Vernon's record from the last sync. Fields tagged → flow back into the Pulse record.

Never synced from Vernon

Identity

name→ title

Buildings for the performing arts : a design and development guide

vernon_id

—

accession_no→ accession_number

—

vernon_slug

—

Drives Pulse state

curr_loc_status→ on_shelf

—

location_name

—

location_reason

—

isbn_issn→ isbn (when valid)

—

Descriptive

production_date

—

object_type

—

object_status

—

brief_description

—

Subjects & people

authors→ author (initial fill only)

—

tags→ tags

—

subject_people

—

subject_objects

—

Topics and Themes

1. **Architectural Design for Specialist Buildings**
The book is fundamentally a professional design guide showing how performance venues — theatres, concert halls, opera houses, studio spaces — are categorically different from ordinary building types. It covers auditorium geometry, stage configurations (proscenium, thrust, flat floor), sightlines, row spacing, and backstage infrastructure, treating the performing arts building as a highly specialised architectural problem.

Connect to books about: architectural typology, specialist building design, theatre architecture, concert hall design.

---

2. **Acoustics & Sensory Environment**
A core technical thread running through the book is the acoustic performance of the space — how the shape, volume, and material of a room shapes the audience's experience of sound. This connects the physical design of the building directly to the art being performed within it.

Connect to books about: architectural acoustics, room acoustics, environmental engineering, sound design.

---

3. **The Architectural Brief & Client-Consultant Relationships**
Appleton devotes considerable attention to the process of translating a client's vision into a buildable brief — identifying the roles of owners, advisors, architects, and specialist consultants, and mapping out how decisions are made at each stage of development. This is as much a book about professional practice as it is about buildings.

Connect to books about: architectural project management, briefing and programming, client-architect relationships, construction procurement.

---

4. **Feasibility, Finance & Development Viability**
The book treats the economics of cultural buildings as inseparable from their design — covering financial appraisal, assessment of demand, funding structures, and timescale planning. It links the market for cultural participation to the supply of built infrastructure.

Connect to books about: cultural economics, arts funding and policy, real estate development, public finance for cultural institutions.

---

5. **Adaptive Reuse & Heritage Buildings**
A dedicated chapter addresses the adaptation of existing buildings for performing arts use — the challenge of fitting contemporary technical and accessibility requirements into structures not originally designed for live performance.

Connect to books about: building conservation, adaptive reuse, heritage architecture, retrofit and refurbishment.

---

6. **Audience Experience & Spatial Behaviour**
The book treats the audience not merely as passive occupants but as active participants whose movement, comfort, and perception must be designed for — covering foyers, circulation, box offices, and the social spaces surrounding the performance itself.

Connect to books about: audience studies, visitor experience, environmental psychology, public space design.

---

7. **Performing Arts Culture & Production Types**
Before dealing with buildings, Appleton grounds the reader in the nature of the art forms themselves — classical music, opera, jazz, pop/rock, musicals, dance, and drama — each with distinct spatial, technical, and organisational demands. The building is understood as a response to the nature of live performance.

Connect to books about: theatre history, musicology, dance studies, live performance theory, stagecraft.

---

8. **Cultural Infrastructure & Civic Provision**
The book spans venues from local community scale to metropolitan landmark, positioning performing arts buildings as a form of public and civic infrastructure. It addresses how communities assess need, justify investment, and plan for audiences of different sizes and demographics — including dedicated provision for children and young people.

Connect to books about: cultural policy, urban planning, community arts, civic architecture, cultural geography.

Buildings for the performing arts : a design and development guide

Book Images

TAGS

CONNECTIONS

State

Details

LOCATION HISTORY

Book Location

Book Images

Vernon snapshot

Topics and Themes