Mondavi Center
Encyclopedia
The Mondavi Center, or Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, is a performing arts
Performing arts
The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...

 venue located on the UC Davis
University of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis is a public teaching and research university established in 1905 and located in Davis, California, USA. Spanning over , the campus is the largest within the University of California system and third largest by enrollment...

 campus in Davis, California
Davis, California
Davis is a city in Yolo County, California, United States. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area...

. It is named for arts patron and vineyard
Vineyard
A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...

 operator Robert Mondavi
Robert Mondavi
Robert Gerald Mondavi was a leading California vineyard operator whose technical improvements and marketing strategies brought worldwide recognition for the wines of the Napa Valley in California. From an early period, Mondavi aggressively promoted labeling wines varietally rather than...

, who donated US$10 million to help with the building costs, and who also helped finance The Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science on the same campus. The current annual operating budget is approximately US$7.3 million, 58% of which comes from earned income.

Mondavi Center opened on October 3, 2002 for the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra and today serves as a venue for various local and world-renowned musical concerts, theater, dance, lecturers and other entertainers. The façade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....

 is a large glass-panelled lobby that is surrounded by sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...

 that also lines the interior walls.

Performance and other facilities

The facilities include:
  • Jackson Hall, named after university professor William Jackson, whose wife Barbara Jackson donated $5 million to the project in memory of him. It seats 1,801.
  • Vanderhoef Studio Theatre, named after former university Chancellor Larry N. Vanderhoef
    Larry N. Vanderhoef
    Larry Neil Vanderhoef is an American biochemist, and academic. He was the 5th chancellor of University of California, Davis.-Biography:...

    . It seats 250.

Architecture and design

The facility was designed by Boora Architects
Boora Architects
Boora Architects is an architectural firm based in Portland, Oregon, its name derived from the partners Broome, Oringdulph, Randolph, and Associates.Its projects include:* renovation of the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Portland, 1983...

 of Portland, Oregon as a box within a box in order to insulate the hall from the sound of the nearby freeway and train tracks. The Center also features moveable panels that can adjust the acoustics of the main hall and an orchestra shell on air caster
Air caster
An air caster is a pneumatic lifting device used to move heavy loads on flat, non-porous surfaces. Its operation is similar to a hovercraft, as it uses a thin layer of air as a way to float a very small distance off the ground...

s.

Many green construction
Green building
Green building refers to a structure and using process that is environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition...

 techniques were used to further the University's commitment to the environment and sustainable construction
Sustainable design
Sustainable design is the philosophy of designing physical objects, the built environment, and services to comply with the principles of economic, social, and ecological sustainability.-Intentions:The intention of sustainable design is to "eliminate negative environmental...

 methods.

The Mondavi Center features a M'elodie Meyer Sound system for sound reinforcement.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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