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Stew Lilker’s

Columbia County Observer

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Florida/National News

Good News That Everyone in FL Can Appreciate:
Final Presidential debate in innovative performing arts center at Lynn University, Boca Raton


Lynn University Keith C. & Elaine Johnson World Performing Arts Center

BOCA RATON, FL- The Keith C. & Elaine Johnson World Performing Arts Center at Lynn University will host the final debate between President Barack Obama and GOP Candidate Mitt Romney, October 22, 2012. This historic occasion will be enhanced by the outstanding architecture.

When developing the Performing Arts Center, Newman Architects was commissioned to create a versatile and intimate space for an array of occasions. The building, characterized as “frozen music” because of its unique technical and aesthetic features, will unify the live audience and those watching from home in a shared participation of this momentous event. Among those features are:

• Superb acoustics and appropriate reverberation time as a result of specially engineered concaved wood paneling,
• Encouraged socialization and intimacy through auditorium central entrance and rounded house design,
• 750-seat auditorium developed to minimize distance of the farthest seat from stage,
• All seats are connected to the stage engaging the audience and performers in a shared excitement and immediacy,
• Grand two-story lobby lit with chandeliers accentuated by curved entrance canopy,
• Spacious reception area opens up to terrace views,
• Environmentally friendly interior finishes crafted locally and sustainable-design strategies implemented,
• Exterior shell is made of pre-cast tilt-up concrete panels, cast on the site and erected quickly and efficiently, allowing for a short construction period,
• Situated on the edge of the campus minimizing traffic problems.

Lynn University:   Lynn University is an independent, nonprofit university located in Boca Raton, Fla.  The university is home to five academic colleges, a Conservatory of Music, School of Aeronautics, and the Institute for Achievement and Learning. Lynn University is recognized as one of the most innovative, international, and individualized small universities in America.  It is one of two schools with programs for traditional and non-traditional learning selected to host the 2012 presidential debate. For more about Lynn University, visit  Lynn University here.

Newman Architects:   Herbert Newman is a graduate of Brown University and received a Masters of Architecture from the Yale University School of Architecture. As Design Principal, Herbert Newman has led the direction of Newman Architects’ diverse portfolio of projects for public and private clients, including colleges and universities, corporations, civic agencies, public libraries, k-12 schools, fine and performing arts centers, religious buildings, and private residences. Newman Architects, a member of the U.S. Green Building Council, provides full architectural services and interior design services. Read more about Newman architects here.


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Kevin M. Ross, President of Lynn University: “Everyone who visits the Keith C. and Elaine Johnson World Performing Arts Center on the Campus of Lynn University is struck by its intimacy and its beauty. Herb Newman and Newman Architects made this venue a very special space on our campus. When members of the Commission on Presidential Debates initially visited to evaluate the University as a possible site for the presidential debate, they commented on that they could make this already beautiful space look magnificent on television.”


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Herbert Newman, FAIA, Newman Architects: “We were tasked with providing a facility that would serve both the University as a teaching environment as well as the community as a unique income-generating venue. The space is designed with flexibility in mind and accommodates theatrical productions (drama, opera, musicals), concerts and other cultural events with adjustable acoustic components to allow for lectures and campus presentations. The design conveys a shared sense of participation of audience and performer.“

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