Jacob's Pillow's Doris Duke Theatre On Track for Completion
January 28, 2025
Four years ago, when a fire destroyed the Doris Duke Theatre at Jacob’s Pillow, Artistic Director Pamela Tatge knew she had to turn the horrible loss into an opportunity.
“We took something that was the ultimate tragedy — the loss of a theater that had served audiences and artists for 30 years — and decided to build a theater deeply grounded in the Earth and equipped for the future,” Tatge said.
The reimagined Doris Duke Theatre occupies the site of the former studio theater from 1990, destroyed by fire in November 2020. 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. The theater will seat up to 220-400 patrons in the main performance space, with an array of seating and stage configurations.
Photography courtesy of Mecanoo
Allegrone Co. is construction manager to Jacob’s Pillow's reimagined Doris Duke Theatre, which was designed by Dutch architecture firm Mecanoo, as well as landscape architecture firm Marvel. Charcoalblue are consulting on theater and acoustics design for the project. Jeffrey Gibson, Choctaw/Cherokee, is serving as a consultant on the building’s relationship to the site and Indigenous values, a key element of the building’s design.
“The building itself is really made to incorporate indigenous design principals and values,” Tatge said. “Our architect wanted us to really connect with the environment that gives Jacob’s Pillow its quintessential identity, so the doors open up to the outdoors, and you can have a performance start outside and move inside.”
The theater's mass timber structure is clad in thermally treated pine, designed to weather gracefully over time. Rainwater is collected for future reuse, and the generous veranda provides natural shading, a quiet gesture of harmony between sustainability and design.
The project remains on track for its mid-2025 completion.
Media Coverage:
Jacob's Pillow: Reimagined Doris Duke Theatre
ArchDaily: Mecanoo's Reimagined Doris Duke Theater to Open in Massachusetts in July 2025
American Theatre: Jacob’s Pillow to Open New Doris Duke Theatre