Setting the Stage with Architectural Inspiration

Architecture is one of my biggest go-to sources when I am looking for inspiration. It's one of the reasons I love to travel. I get to see different buildings, and get a ton of inspiration for the stages and sets we create at AOO Events, and now, through our new, live production division, AOO Live. Here are two stage sets that we produced and the buildings that inspired them. And, I've added a future inspiration that in the coming months will undoubtedly find it's way into one of our designs.

The Inspiration...
Fallingwater, also known as the Kaufman Residence, was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and is located north of Pittsburgh. It is regarded as one of the most famous historic landmarks and feats of architecture for its daring cantilever design. True to Wright's work, it also becomes one with its surroundings, specifically, the waterfall below it. It's one of my favorites.

The Reality...
With Fallingwater as my inspiration, I designed this stage. You can see evidence of the cantilevered tiers in the ledge stone wall incorporated on top of the 10-foot-high stage. This is where we "hid" Liza Minelli before her reveal as that night's performer. The 10-by-50-foot wide waterfall was created virtually with video projection. A reed pond and large rocks in the foreground hid the projectors. While we could have done a real waterfall, it would have been too noisy and drowned out the orchestra.

An exact replica of the fireplace in Fallingwater also incorporated virtual elements, for obvious reasons. Video projection, scentscaping that added the smell of burning wood, and sound effects brought this fireplace to life.


The Inspiration...
One morning in Palm Springs with friends, as we were on our way to get coffee I turned to the right and saw this mid-century building. I pulled out my phone camera and took this shot. It became the inspiration for the stage design of the 100th Anniversary of Naval Aviation on the USS Midway in San Diego.

The Reality...
You can see the structure of that building -- the core of my inspiration -- clearly in this stage design for the heroes of Naval Aviation.

The stage also featured a center scrim that was backlit at certain times, such as dinner service, to reveal the band as it played.

The Inspiration...
I have collected many images of buildings, like this one of the Salk Institute. From this I already can see the beginning of an exciting future stage treatment! What do you see?