ABSTRACT
All assembly spaces must provide audience sightlines and accessibility and egress. Auditoriums intended for live performance must provide more - they must support and enhance the communal act of performance that takes place within them. This chapter discusses these distinct requirements of spaces for live performance. It addresses two related topics: the nature of live performance and the role of precedents in the design of auditoriums. Live performance is a shared act between performers and audience that takes place at a particular time and in a particular space. The quality of "place" describes architecture that is stimulating, pleasant, and meaningful to its inhabitants. Obviously, auditorium design is not as simple as a checklist, and many aspects of successful design are less easy to pin down. However, the public more readily attaches meaning to spaces that are familiar and recognizable, and meaning is important to the quality of place.
