Enmax Concert Hall, Winspear Centre for Music, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

The focal point of Winspear Centre for Music is its Enmax concert hall, designed in the tradition of the great European orchestral halls. A separate rehearsal hall and appropriate back-of-house support facilities, including offices for the Edmonton Symphony and the Edmonton Concert Hall Foundation, facilitate the use of the Centre by diverse members of the community. Winspear Centre for Music opened in September 1997.

The 1917-seat concert hall is a tall, rectangular room with stepped, curved balconies and terraces. With its parallel side walls, the Winspear represents a modern adaptation of the classic "shoebox" shaped concert halls of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The room was designed to have exceptional natural acoustics for a wide range of musical events, from symphonic orchestra, chamber ensembles, and soloists, to amplified folk, jazz, country music, and speech. The acoustics of the Winspear are adjustable through the use of velour banners and curtains on every level of the hall. These can be used to control the reverberant characteristics for musical events that require a less reverberant environment, or for orchestra rehearsals when the presence of a full audience needs to be approximated. An adjustable canopy system balances the clarity and reverberance of performances, helps control the loudness of the sound, and - in conjunction with the curved acoustic reflectors - assists in cross-stage communication among musicians.

Artec provided Design and Planning services covering Pre-Design Phase services, Auditorium Design, Facility Planning, Specialized Performance Equipment Systems Design and Background Noise and Vibration Control consulting for Winspear Centre for Music. The Architect was Cohos Evamy Partners.