TED Talks: Building Wonder Season 1 Episode 14 Joshua Prince-Ramus: Building a Theater That Remakes Itself

Joshua Prince-Ramus is an architect who has always been interested in pushing the limits of what buildings can do. In this episode of TED Talks: Building Wonder season 1, Prince-Ramus shares his experience designing and building one of the most groundbreaking theaters in the world – the Wyly Theater in Dallas, Texas.

Prince-Ramus begins the talk by discussing his philosophy on architecture and how he believes that it should be more about problem-solving than about making a statement. He stresses the importance of understanding the users' needs and designing spaces that can adapt to their changing requirements. He then goes on to explain how he applied these principles to the Wyly Theater and its unique design.

The Wyly Theater was commissioned by the Dallas Theater Center, which had a vision of creating a space that could host various performances, including plays, musicals, and operas. However, they also wanted the theater to be versatile enough to adapt to the changing needs of each performance. This posed a unique challenge for Prince-Ramus and his team because traditional theaters are typically designed for a single purpose.

To solve this problem, Prince-Ramus came up with an innovative idea – a theater that could remodel itself to meet the needs of each performance. He and his team came up with a series of movable platforms that could be raised or lowered to create different stage configurations. They also designed four elevators that could lift sets, lighting, and actors up to the rafters as needed. This allowed the theater to transform from a proscenium stage to a thrust stage, an arena stage, or a flat-floor stage, depending on the requirements of the performance.

Prince-Ramus talks about the challenges faced during the construction of the Wyly Theater. One challenge was that they had to figure out how to accommodate all of the machinery needed to operate the elevators and movable platforms without adding too much weight to the building. Another challenge was that they had to design the theater to withstand the high winds that are known to hit Dallas.

But perhaps the biggest challenge was convincing the theater community that this new design was viable. Prince-Ramus was met with skepticism from those who thought that the theater's versatility would come at the expense of the audience's experience. However, he was able to prove them wrong by showing how the design actually enhanced the audience experience. With the ability to change the configuration of the stage, every seat in the theater had a great view of the performance, regardless of where it was located.

In this episode of TED Talks: Building Wonder season 1, Prince-Ramus also discusses his philosophy of architecture and the importance of designing buildings that solve problems and serve the people who use them. He discusses how architects and designers need to take a more holistic approach to design and consider how their buildings will impact the environment and the communities in which they are located.

Overall, this episode of TED Talks: Building Wonder season 1 offers a fascinating look at an architect who is pushing the boundaries of what is possible with building design. Prince-Ramus's innovative design for the Wyly Theater is an excellent example of how architecture can solve problems and create spaces that serve their users in new and exciting ways.