Gota de Plata Theater and Auditorium

Category:

Cultural and sports

Location:

Pachuca, Hidalgo

Area:

14,000 m²

Year:

2005

Status:

Built

Services:

Executive Project, Supervision of Architecture and Works

The Theater and Auditorium was developed as an integral part of the “David Ben Gurión Cultural Park” in Pachuca, in Hidalgo state.

The building is located on the south side of the Cultural Park and, thanks to its position within the complex, acts as a visual endpoint for the vast 80 x 400 meter mural plaza created by artist Byron Gálvez.

The design premise was to extend this visual artwork in the external cladding of the Auditorium, generating a veritable mirror measuring 60 x 14 meters using strips of reflective glass that reflect and reinterpret the work of art.

The building is set on a stone podium, the main purpose of which is to act as the “starting point” from which to observe the mural. Its backdrop or support is represented by a stone element that contains the stage, the backstage and stage machinery.

The purpose of the project is to provide local people with a space in which to pursue a wide range of large-scale activities: dance, music, film, symphony orchestras, theater, and opera. To this end, the building covers 14,000 m² and has an audience capacity of 2,000. In addition, the Auditorium comprises a balcony on the first floor, an external viewing platform, stage, backstage, dressing rooms, orchestra pit, balcony, stalls, and parking lots. Ramps, elevators, and diverse spaces make it perfectly suited to meet the needs of people with disabilities.

The Auditorium essentially comprises six large concrete elements cast in situ, which form the backbone of this building, supporting the entire roof system, which appears to fly forwards towards the park’s mural plaza.

Detailed studies were carried out on the characteristics required by the Theater and Auditorium. For example, the acoustics were designed on the basis of a series of analyses of the correct ceiling angles within the hall, ensuring that anything from a single voice or guitar to a symphony orchestra can be heard perfectly from any point in the auditorium.

This large-sale aluminum volume with its stone plinth and supporting wall will become a landmark and hub for cultural activities in the city of Pachuca, while at the same time functioning, with its large size, as an urban backdrop, while its roof generates interior and exterior spaces that interact with the wider cultural complex.