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Telluride Conference and Performing Arts Center

The operational pro-forma was the used as the starting point for programming. From this document the program team knew how many seats were required to make the operation viable. The number of seats represents part of the necessary quantification. Based on that number the kitchen could be programmed by our consultant Thomas Ricca, and the program team could define the daily functions, identify the rooms to house the functions and determine best adjacency of functions for greatest efficiency. The size of the ballroom was defined, and from there the number of exits and how the openings to the room interface with the public side and back-of-house service side. From the program the walls of the sub-dividable ballroom could be located in design, and table layouts could be tested for the many ways the room(s) would be used (1).

A center like this one, with two programs, one for conferencing and one for performing arts, has a large staff to market, run and maintain the center. The program defined the rooms, their function, relationships between functions, back-of-house service and integrated the kitchen program into the program for the center. Functions include a large staging and storage area at the loading dock, a room for dancers to warm up, a dressing room, staff toilets and lockers and a locked liquor vault. The program also defined the need to accommodate large groups of people arriving and leaving at the same time, pre-function space for informal business meetings and cocktails, and a suite of conference rooms. The plan shown (2) was used to test early program concepts to clarify functional priorities, and eliminate areas that would reduce efficiency.

The suite of conference rooms (3) evolved during program discussions from two rooms to three when studies indicated that the conference rooms had the potential to make the center more profitable. Audio-visual capability was defined during the program, to make each room user-friendly easy to upgrade when technology changes. The final plan (4) illustrates direction from the program. The bay window side of the room is designed for live performances and is used by the Film Festival as a celluloid film venue. A film quality control room contains AV equipment to run the room as a ballroom, and as a series of sub-divided lecture, presentation or training rooms. Each layout can be serviced with power and data for interactive training sessions. The program also called for the ballroom to be able to exhibit vehicles as well as other types of exhibits.