DECEMBER

THE ROOF IS THE WALL IN THIS THEATRE
Revolutionary Approach in Design and Projection Used in St. Louis Theatre
I HE NEW La Cosa Theatre in the
St. Ann shopping center, St. Louis, Mo.,
represents the materialization of several
new concepts of theatre form and design.
The architect, Lewis E. Wilson, has created
a completely functional small theatre
with increased economy of construction
and operation.
The 725-seat La Cosa is the first of its
kind in the world, and is designed on the
lines of a distorted letter A. Tie beams in
the floor of the house provide the cross
members and vertical steel beams along one
side actually create the illusion of one
vertical wall in the auditorium. Thus, in
this semitriangular design the roof becomes
the walls with a number of economies resulting.
Waste space was eliminated and
the entire cubage of the building reduced.
Since building codes require much stricter
regulations for walls than for the roof,
this is an economical design.
UNUSUAL ROOF CONSTRUCTION
The roof is formed of concealed steel
ribs, which are in effect roof rafters, and
three-inch, tongue and groove wooden decking,
installed in alternate areas, one on the
bottom and one on the top, forming a pattern
of offsets, both inside and outside. The
exterior was covered with a 20-year builtup
roof, and spray-painted with a special
green paint which has a luminous quality,
particularly at twilight. The paint also
ages within a short time to resemble very
old bronze.
SCREEN
The usual layout of
OVER THE FOYER
the theatre was reversed,
with the screen placed over the
foyer, thereby combining the space usually
unoccupied in front of the screen with the
foyer. The screen is angled, and set higher
than usual, and the seating arrangement is
curved diagonally across the theatre, giving
greater ease of visibility to the audience
than ever before achieved. This staggered
seating arrangement was made possible
without any mechanical manipulation
at all.
The projection is from the rear of the
screen, and a new optical system was designed
for this arrangement, while the
screen is of a grayish plastic similar to a
television screen.
One of the characteristics of rear projection
is the fact that much higher light
levels may be maintained in the auditorium
than in normal projection, so that foyer
and lobby need not be closed off from the
auditorium.
Another advantage of placing the screen
over the foyer is that additional economies
were made with wiring centers near the
front of the house, closer to main line
connections.
Leading acoustical engineers report that
the interior shape of the theatre providesi
ideal acoustics, with the proper acoustical,
principles built right in, for there are noj
parallel sides from which sound waves may;
'.
bounce back and forth.
The over-all design of the theatre re-j
quires a smaller staff than usual, as it cani
be operated by three persons, a projection-;
ist, a ticket seller and a salesperson in
charge of the concession. Because of the
high level of light in the auditorium it is
not necessary to have an usher to seat patrons.
CENTRALIZED WIRING, PLUMBING
On the second floor, the 18x25-foot projection
room is located directly above the
restrooms. This effects further economj
by centralizing all the wiring, controls
plumbing, etc., for the entire theatre oper-
The extraordinary interior of the La Cosa plainly shows the lines 0/ the distorted letter A upon which the theatre was designed. The
ceiling which forms the upper walls is built of concealed steel ribs, installed alternately with tongue and groove decking. The pattern
of offsets is very desirable acoustically. The screen, over the foyer, is elevated higher than customary and is positioned at an angle
Seating is curved diagonally across the theatre. Patrons enter through doors visible beyond thp low wall at front of the seating.
10 The MODERN THEATRE SECTION
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