Sprague Memorial Hall, Yale University

Albert Arnold Sprague Memorial Hall occupies a prominent position at Yale University, sitting in the geographic centre of the buildings that define the Yale School of Music. As one of two concert halls on campus, the facility needed to command an electrifying flagship presence and be more welcoming and accessible architecturally.

On the exterior, the lighting has been reconceptualized to create a sense of occasion, invigorating the atmosphere of the façade and projecting the animation of live performance to the street. Illuminated playbill cabinets and festive banners add to Sprague’s vitality and provide a necessary communication infrastructure.

Within, the front-of-house spaces benefit from a reconfigured box office and ground floor lobby, with enhanced lighting and material richness contributing to the sense of arrival and theatricality. Refurbishment of the existing 720-seat Morse Recital Hall have improved both its acoustics and its aesthetics. New wood sound and light locks, sound isolating windows, and a control booth at the rear of the orchestra, are intended to bring the recital hall up to modern performance venue standards.