Boston Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Hall
Master Plan and Renovations

Designed by McKim, Mead & White, the circa-1900 Symphony Hall building is a National Historic Landmark. Our Master Plan established strategies for the preservation and renewal of the 2,625-seat Hall, as well as for the renovation and expansion of its adjacent building and properties. The Plan addressed public, performance, rehearsal, education, administrative, storage, and backstage needs. 

In Symphony Hall, our completed projects include replacement of the performance stage floor, restoration of the clerestory windows, seating and platform renewal, restoration and accessibility of the Massachusetts Avenue lobby, renovation of patron lounges and bars, and significant improvements to corridors, restrooms, and orchestra dressing rooms. Other completed projects include a new rehearsal room and dressing rooms for the Tanglewood Festival Choir, and a new archival research center for the print and graphic collections recording the history of the BSO. A subsequent study explored the replacement of the Hall’s original adjustable seating riser system, to facilitate the configuration changeover needed for the Boston Symphony Orchestra and for the Boston Pops Orchestra programs. Throughout our work with the BSO, we assisted with grants writing and marketing materials needed for their advancement and communications initiatives.