Multiple-use performing arts halls

Performing arts halls are increasingly becoming multi-purpose halls. Purpose-built venues that serve purely as concert halls or opera houses are rather rare today. Multi-purpose halls, conversely, can be used for different types of stage presentations inside a single building, under one roof with proportionally lower costs; furthermore, they can also be used for activities which are not related to the performing arts. The paper discusses functional and spatial adaptability and flexibility in multiple-use halls, and presents possible forms and arrangements of the stage and the auditorium as well as their spatial interrelations. Attention is focused upon acoustics and their impact on the functioning of multi-purpose performance spaces. The paper also presents multi-use and multi-format facilities. The author attempts to determine the best possible conditions for various types of theatre arrangement.