Overview

Located in historic downtown Kansas City, the 285,000 square foot Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts changed the city’s skyline, and the very essence of modern building design. The Center was designed by internationally renowned architecture firm Safdie Architects, and features a theater, a performance hall, and an expansive outdoor terrace for the city’s arts district.

The design of the Kauffman Center was precipitated by the decision to build two distinct halls: Muriel Kauffman Theatre, an 1,800-seat venue with a 5,000 square foot stage; and Helzberg Hall, a 1,600-seat oval chamber with a stage that extends approximately one-third of the distance into the Hall, placing 40 percent of the seats alongside or behind the orchestra for an engrossing audience experience. Helzberg Hall hosts a variety of local, regional, national and international artists and performance groups, and serves as the performance home of the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra.

Requirements

Moshe Safdie and his firm worked with Yasuhisa Toyota of Nagata Acoustics to design a volumetric and geometric concept for the hall — a space that would showcase the delicate acoustics of solo concerts, chamber music and even full orchestras. The architects needed a flooring material that would not only match their intended design and aesthetic, but stand the test of time and endure the footsteps of countless future patrons.

The decision was made to install a rift red oak floor with some reasonably allowable color variation and straight grain with minimal figure on the face of the boards. The width (4 in) of the face of the boards is an ideal width for rift lumber, as the narrower boards in the quartersawing process tend to exhibit the least amount of figure.

The firm collaborated with Acme Floor Company to create a hall that was intimate where the audience could be engaged with the performances. With a stage made from western red cedar and walls paneled in vertical grain Douglas-fir, the architects chose rift red oak flooring to complement their dramatic design, and flooring manufacturer Acme turned to the leading quartersawn hardwood experts at Frank Miller Lumber. Acme worked with Frank Miller for more than one and one-half years to ensure that the width-sorted rift red oak would be delivered on time, allowing them to meet both the aesthetic requirements and the production time frame.

The Frank Miller Solution

The incomparably beautiful quartersawn hardwoods Frank Miller produces, including white and red oak, score high on the Janka hardness scale, which measures the denting resistance of various wood species. Additionally, the quartersawing process intrinsically improves lumber stability. Unlike plainsawn hardwoods, straight-grained quartersawn hardwoods tend to expand and contract in thickness, not width, virtually eliminating warping, twisting and cupping. This made quartersawn hardwood the perfect material choice for the flooring in Helzberg Hall. Architects and designers like Safdie can be assured of the lumber’s utilitarian durability for a long service life, and confidently create a vision that will endure.