Baldwinsville NY. AIA Central NY Chapter 2002 Design Award - Urban Planning

Through a series of concept plans and elevations, the Amphitheater evolved. The major design elements were taken from the site's environment. The overall nautical character of this building, specifically the tower elements, was derived from the island's neighbor, the Lock 24 Restaurant. The restaurant's motif is that of a lighthouse in the shingle style. The twin towers that borrows the lighthouse appearance also provides support for the other major design element. the steel truss bridge that spans the Seneca River behind the Amphitheater provides the inspiration for the graceful curve of the proscenium roof truss.

Adding to the nautical theme, porthole windows were inserted to the structure's side. wings were added to the Amphitheater as metaphor to wings of a theater stage. On the programmatic level, the wings serve as screens for the toilet rooms and function as storage spaces.

The breadth of the wing walls and the structure of the towers give the Amphitheater a a sense of modest monumentality, which nicely reconciles the intended format function of the building with its natural setting.