The Lindemann | REX Architecture

The Lindemann Performing Arts Center, located centrally in the Perelman Arts District at Brown University, opened on Saturday, October 21. The opening of the 101,000 sq-foot facility, designed by REX/Joshua Ramus and managed by Brown Arts Institute (BAI), marks a watershed moment for the arts on Brown’s campus, as it prepares to host a range of internationally renowned artists and inaugurate a new chapter of expanded academic and artistic programming. 

Interweaving innovative design, year-round arts programming, and gathering and rehearsal spaces, The Lindemann aims to increase accessibility to cutting edge artistic resources to further cultivate a community committed to the arts. Through its five radically different preset spatial, acoustic, and technical configurations designed to accommodate a variety of performances, installations, and programs—Experimental Media, Recital, End Stage, Orchestra, and Flat Floor—the facility is able to accommodate Brown’s varied creative communities and fill a need for state-of-the-art performance, rehearsal, and teaching spaces to serve the University’s arts departments, ensembles, and student arts groups. 

“The opening of The Lindemann marks a moment of catalyzing potential for the future of the University, cementing its commitment to artistic practices on campus and in the broader Providence community,” said BAI Artistic Director Avery Willis Hoffman. “We are excited to welcome students into the space to

engage with its leading technology and programming, and with each other, faculty, on-campus arts groups, and leading visiting artists and performing arts organizations that will be made available to them through our collaborative programming.” 

The Lindemann’s fluted aluminum façade is intersected by a stage-level “clearstory” that reveals the interior of the main floor in every direction, welcoming passersby to witness and engage with the creation of art in the space and providing views of Infinite Composition, a site-specific, dynamic light installation by internationally acclaimed artist Leo Villareal. Adjacent to other arts-centered academic facilities in the campus core, The Lindemann’s location will establish a hub of creative activity on campus, as it hosts year-round programming, rehearsals, research-focused courses, collaborations, community partnerships, and BAI commissions. 

“The transformational capabilities of The Lindemann respond to the students’ needs, as well as the University’s pedagogical structure, reflecting its commitment to excellence and adaptability to provide an architectural tool capable of expanding its artistic offerings,” said REX principal architect Joshua Ramus. 

Incorporating a new performance typology, invented by REX’s design team during their work on this project, all six surfaces of the hall (floor, ceiling, and four walls) modulate physically and/or acoustically through automated and manually assisted performance equipment. Below street level, three spaces designed for music, theater, and dance will enable students, faculty, and visiting artists to create cutting-edge, original artwork in flexible, well-equipped studios. Each includes a control room and customizable equipment, allowing the rooms to function as studios, classrooms, and performance spaces where artists and scholars can engage in experiments, fabrications, installations, and speculative projects. 

Brown University marked the opening of The Lindemann with a ribbon-cutting on Saturday, October 21, kicking off a year-long celebration of the arts at Brown that includes the launch of the inaugural IGNITE Series. Organized by BAI, IGNITE showcases a diverse array of offerings from across the Brown Arts ecosystem, including projects by students, student groups, faculty and departments, Brown alumni, Brown Arts Institute collaborations with other campus units and visiting artists, as well as projects by local and regional artists and arts organizations. IGNITE is anchored by large-scale imaginings and collaborative residencies with BAI’s Artistic Innovators. The first two in the series are: 

Carrie Mae Weems’ Varying Shades of Brown, a campus-wide artistic activation reimagining major works in collaboration with students (September 18 – December 3, 2023) 

A collaborative residency by William Kentridge and The Centre for the Less Good Idea, including a presentation of the acclaimed Houseboy at The Lindemann (Spring 2024) 

Photography: Iwan Baan

Website: https://iwan.com/

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