Has Frank Gehry become a classicist? His interiors for the Signature Theater, a year-old off-Broadway venue on far west Forty-second Street, have a remarkable repose. Which isn’t to say the place isn't recognizably Gehry; everything is finished in plywood, aluminum and concrete, and there are stretches adorned with his (signature) complex, faceted geometries. But the forms are more resolutely composed than those in his well-known buildings like the Guggenheim Bilbao; the place is calm.
The Signature is tucked inside the second and third floors of a new condominium tower by Arquitectonica. The twisting, freestanding, wood-clad staircase that pulls visitors up from street level is the only major expressed volume. Two of the theaters, reached through long ramps on the second floor, are box-shaped, trimmed inside with puzzle-piece-shaped plywood panels to dampen acoustics. The open lounge area on the second floor, a kind of public plaza (it’s open to all), might be the most uninspiring part of the place. The floor is only about ten feet high, which doesn’t leave room for big sculptural moves. Though the ceiling is animated with floating plywood panels and clouded acrylic lamp shades, the space seems, quite literally, flat. But those moments within the complex where Gehry has a free hand (the staircase, the theater interiors) are energetic and finely composed. This architect, known as a free spirit, is just as skillfull in restraint.
Photography by James Ewing/OTTO.