Royce Hall, the Romanesque concert hall and classroom building constructed in
1929, was badly damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Originally designed
for lectures, by the 1930's the hall had become an important venue for the
performing arts, and an iconic symbol of the University. Thanks to $36 million
dollars from FEMA, (out of a total cost of $68 million), the building and the
concert hall were seismically strengthened, renovated and restored. Landry & Bogan designed the system of movable acoustical panels within the acoustical chambers, as well as the method of opening and closing the chamber doors. In addition, L&B worked with the design team to find opportunities for improvement wherever changes had to be made to structure or equipment. The stage gridiron was replaced with a new one which combined the required stiffness and properly-spaced loft wells. The main headbeam was relocated to provide the last possible inch of batten travel. Virtually all the stagehouse electrical items had to be removed, and the ones that had been preventing station were consolidated. Front of house lighting was improved modestly, and the massive 1984 loudspeakers and the door machinery and crane rails were replaced by a more modern and flexible system.
Owner's Representative: Charles "Duke" Oakley FAIA, Principal, Steven Ehrlich Architects, 10865 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232 (310) 838-9700. (UCLA Campus Architect during design and construction)
Executive Architect: Anshen + Allen, Los Angeles, 5055 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90036 (213) 525-0500
Design Architect: Barton Phelps & Associates, 5514 Wilshire Boulevard, 10th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90036 (323) 934-8615
Construction data: Construction cost, $68.3 million, opened April, 1998
