Late next month, the Toyota Music Factory, a large entertainment hub in Irving, Texas, with 20 restaurant and entertainment concepts, will have a soft opening for Rayleigh Underground, a 38,000-sf theater with a capacity of 850 and complemented by an overhead 6,000-person concert venue operated by Live Nation.
Named after Lord Rayleigh, a Nobel Prize-winning scientist who first identified acoustics and lightwave scattering, Rayleigh Underground features an 18x50-ft stage with a 36x18-ft Absen 2.9 pitch video wall on the center stage. The venue will also have multiple interactive LED screens throughout, six bars, of which two are VIP; a large ballroom/conferencen space that can accommodate three separate dining areas; and an AV Booth to MC any type of event or performance.
According to Chris Michero, co-founder and design principal with Dallas-based Emblem Interior Design, this project’s interior designer, Rayleigh Underground was created to provide a more intimate space for performers, artists, comedians, and guest speakers, along with a “submissive” Pacific Rim-flavored dining experience for guests.
Venue’s design tells stories
This project has been in the works for several years. The Toyota Music Factory opened in late 2017. A year later, following a resolution of a financial dispute between the city and developer, the Dallas News reported that the hub would add five restaurants and bars, including one called Rayleigh Underground and Violet Room that included a large stage.
Michero explains that Rayleigh Underground’s completion was impeded by several factors.
The project’s original designer “created a lot of issues [with] regard to mechanical, HVAC, space planning, etc.,” he says in an email to BD+C. “There was no real design narrative.” When Emblem was hired to replace that designer, it did a full redesign that touched every finish and material. Emblem created “storied spaces that give the guests a sense of place and a history to the interiors, which makes each experience more memorable.” Michero adds that the size of Rayleigh Underground and the multiple areas within it “tie back to our design narrative.”
Like entering a cave
One of those “narratives” fuses innovative technology with the raw aesthetic of an excavated underground amphitheater. StoneCoat’s limestone plaster cladding creates interior and exterior surfaces that project the look and feel of authentic rock, stone, and stucco.
“We wanted to create a unique and memorable guest experience,” said Kim Forsythe, owner of Restaurant Expert Management, Rayleigh Underground’s client, in a prepared statement.
Other members of Rayleigh Underground’s building team include PGP Construction (GC), Herb Goodman (CM and owner’s rep), Mark Hopper (architect), Brookfield Properties Development (the Toyota Music Factory landlord), GME (electrical), EPS (plumbing), Kosel (HVAC and controls), Hatfield (acoustical drywall assemblies), Carpentry Associates (millwork and metalwork for the bars), AllPro (A/V), Highland (fire suppression), Mitec (fire and property protection), Stonehill Industries (painting), Sigma Signs (signage), and CMC Network Solutions (data and low voltage).
Rayleigh Underground is scheduled to open officially in December.
Related Stories
| Jul 7, 2014
7 emerging design trends in brick buildings
From wild architectural shapes to unique color blends and pattern arrangements, these projects demonstrate the design possibilities of brick.
| Jul 7, 2014
A climate-controlled city is Dubai's newest colossal project
To add to Dubai's already impressive portfolio of world's tallest tower and world's largest natural flower garden, Dubai Holding has plans to build the world's largest climate-controlled city.
| Jul 2, 2014
Emerging trends in commercial flooring
Rectangular tiles, digital graphic applications, the resurgence of terrazzo, and product transparency headline today’s commercial flooring trends.
| Jun 30, 2014
Philip Johnson’s iconic World's Fair 'Tent of Tomorrow' to receive much needed restoration funding
A neglected Queens landmark that once reflected the "excitement and hopefulness" at the beginning of the Space Age may soon be restored.
| Jun 30, 2014
Research finds continued growth of design-build throughout United States
New research findings indicate that for the first time more than half of projects above $10 million are being completed through design-build project delivery.
| Jun 18, 2014
Arup uses 3D printing to fabricate one-of-a-kind structural steel components
The firm's research shows that 3D printing has the potential to reduce costs, cut waste, and slash the carbon footprint of the construction sector.
| Jun 16, 2014
6 U.S. cities at the forefront of innovation districts
A new Brookings Institution study records the emergence of “competitive places that are also cool spaces.”
| Jun 12, 2014
Austrian university develops 'inflatable' concrete dome method
Constructing a concrete dome is a costly process, but this may change soon. A team from the Vienna University of Technology has developed a method that allows concrete domes to form with the use of air and steel cables instead of expensive, timber supporting structures.
| Jun 9, 2014
Green Building Initiative launches Green Globes for Sustainable Interiors program
The new program focuses exclusively on the sustainable design and construction of interior spaces in nonresidential buildings and can be pursued by both building owners and individual lessees of commercial spaces.
| May 29, 2014
7 cost-effective ways to make U.S. infrastructure more resilient
Moving critical elements to higher ground and designing for longer lifespans are just some of the ways cities and governments can make infrastructure more resilient to natural disasters and climate change, writes Richard Cavallaro, President of Skanska USA Civil.
