The 2018 Winnipeg New Music Festival welcomed luminary composer Philip Glass to the city and featured the architectural installation Portal Zero, named for and inspired by the spiral portals of the Centennial Concert Hall. The site specific structure is composed of an 8’x8’ cube stacked on top of a 12’x12’ cube with the interior volume formed by two concentric intersecting circles creating a stylized nautilus in plan. The rectilinear exterior is clad in white perforated 4’x8’ boards, while the curving interior is clad in a light and sound absorbing surface. The piece is located on an extrapolated arc that aligns with the south side portals of the concert hall. Projected video on the exterior presenting imagery and the poem A Quiet Architecture by Richard Derksen complement the experience within. A floor level linear light source leads visitors to the interior 16’ volume with a single source of light projecting down.
A site specific piece for cello and four channel fixed media was commissioned for Portal Zero. Three contours, traversed was created to emphasize the natural resonance of instruments in a small space. As visitors round the corner to enter the dark interior volume, the chatter of the lobby fades and they are confronted with a cellist performing the piece live, illuminated by the single light source. The intimate, challenging relationship between artist and audience – enveloped by the soundscape – offers an experience that contrasts the traditional relationship the two have in the vast concert hall theatre.
We were proud to be a part of this inaugural Storefront MB initiative combining architecture and contemporary music for the WNMF, joining a stellar team of collaborators including architects, engineers, builders, graphic designers, composers and performers. The design team included architects Richard Derksen and 701 Architecture, electrical engineer Andrei Aroutiounov, Ted Geddert and his team at Holz Custom Prefab and graphic designer Kat Polischuk. The original music was composed by Travis Weller, co-founder of Austin New Music Co-op, curated and performed by Leanne Zacharias and recorded and mixed by John Schritt, chief audio engineer at Channels Audio & Post Production.
Sketches by Richard Derksen and handout booklet design by Kat Polischuk.
“Portal Zero was an architectural installation at the 2018 Winnipeg New Music Festival, which took place at the Centennial Concert Hall. Situated in the main lobby, the concert going public was invited in to enjoy music at an intimate scale within this immersive sonic experience based on the idea of replicating one of the hall’s portals. 701 Architecture was significantly involved from the start assisting in the refinement of the concept, which involved the simple geometry of concentric circles within a square. What appeared to be a small box (8 x 8’) placed on top of a larger box (12 x 12’) concealed a 20’ long curving corridor leading to a 16’ high cylinder, which was the focus of a live solo cello performance accompanied by commissioned pre-recorded music tracks. Kevin and Brent developed the construction drawings, details, material selection, acoustic and lighting design and also assisted with the construction. The project was memorable and well-received.”
Richard Derksen, Portal Zero Creative Director & Storefront MB Board of Directors