Allegrone Co. Breaks Ground on the Reimagined Doris Duke
May 30, 2023
Jacob's Pillow breaks ground on the rebuild of the Doris Duke Theatre, a flexible theater on the site of the original Doris Duke Theatre, which was lost to a fire of undetermined cause in November 2020.
The new Doris Duke Theatre is designed by Netherlands-based architecture firm Mecanoo, in partnership with New York-based architecture firm Marvel. Berkshire-based Allegrone Co. is the Construction Manager for the theatre.
"We are so grateful for the leadership support that makes it possible for us to envision a re-imagined Doris DukeTheatre, one that promises to have the warmth and character of the original and beloved Duke, while at the same time being relevant and accessible to what artists and audiences will need in the future," said Jacob's PillowExecutive and Artistic Director, Pamela Tatge.
(Renderings courtesy of Mecanoo Architects and Marvel)
The new theatre will be approximately 20,000 sq.ft., compared with the former Duke's roughly 8,500 sq.ft. footprint. The design allows for multi-use flexibility, so that the building can support performances, events, residencies, and more, sometimes simultaneously.
"The design creates a year-round space," added Tatge, "that will serve as an incubator for a new generation of artists seeking to integrate technology into live performance and create art native to the digital realm. It will be a porous, indoor/outdoor space for creation, performance, and community engagement that speaks to the lessons we've learned during the pandemic about the need for community-building, and our innate connection with nature, which we at the Pillow treasure greatly."
The original Doris Duke Theatre at Jacob's Pillow was built as the Studio/Theatre in 1989 as one of three primary performance spaces on Jacob's Pillow's 220-acre campus in Western Massachusetts and opened for its first full season in 1990. The new Doris Duke Theatre will restore a second indoor theater space for Jacob's Pillow's annual summer Dance Festival alongside the flagship Ted Shawn Theatre, and provide year-round studio space on the Pillow campus, in addition to the Perles Family Studio, which is home to The School at Jacob's Pillow and the Pillow Lab, artist-in-residence program.