Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) | Grimshaw Architects

The Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) is a nexus of technological and artistic innovation and optimised performance space, where the intersection of science and the arts is explored through sound, movement and light.

Grimshaw’s appointment to the project was the result of an international design competition. Sited on a steep hillside overlooking the Hudson River, the 200,000 sq f building extends the existing RPI campus westward. It provides five different performance environments: an elegant 1,200-seat concert hall, a 400-seat theatre, two adaptive performance studios, and a dance studio. It also houses audio and video editing suites, artist-in-residence studios, and the campus radio station.

Grimshaw has designed a multi-functional building in which performances and other activities can take place concurrently without absolute segregation of building users. Key to the design is the atrium space, which acts a hub for informal social interaction and as the lobby to the major spaces.

Selected Awards:

2010 Structural Engineering Awards

2009 Structural Award Commendation

2009 AIA New York State Awards

2008 Western Red Cedear Awards "Sponsor Award Winner"

2008 New York Construction News "Cultural Project of the Year"