Minneapolis, MN

Cue at the Guthrie Theater

The Cue at the Guthrie Theater is located on the street level of the Guthrie in downtown Minneapolis' historic Mill District, on the banks of the Mississippi River. The Cue, designed by the Durrant Group, Inc.'s Interior Department, exhibits a consistent theme with Guthrie Theater architect Jean Nouvel's industrial design intent.

Featuring 25-foot ceilings, views of the Mississippi River, and a U-shaped cooking island in the dining area, the Cue creates drama that rivals the performances customers enjoy after their meal. Even the orientation of the ceiling beams and lighting creates spotlights on the dining room floor where customers can feel the power of the stage (even if only for a fleeting moment.).

Acoustics play a vital role in the main theater's success. However, the importance of the acoustical design for the Cue was no less important.

Under the dramatic, monolithic, deep-blue curved ceiling element created by the Durrant Group lies a 13-foot-high custom-built wine and liquor bar and a spectacular glass-tiled cooking island to showcase master chefs prepare dinners.

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Adding hard-floor surface and a large floor-to-ceiling glass wall to this space created a potentially disastrous acoustical space for the Durrant Group.

The Talaske Group was consulted to solve the acoustical problem. Talaske analyzed the space and reviewed Durrant's "sleek" design intent. They recommended that the BASWA Phon Seamless Sound Absorbing Plaster Finish be applied to the curved circular ceiling and the curved vertical soffit areas. This was calculated to dramatically increase the absorption of reflected sounds and drastically reduce the reverberation time.

Lee Grauf of Olympic Wall Systems Inc. located in Minnetonka, Minnesota, a Certified Installer, was contracted to install the flexible BASWA Phon system. Noting the curved element and the critical lighting created from the adjacent windows, the Frosted Finish was used in order to diffuse any minor irregularities in the finished surface.

The Frosted Finish allowed Olympic to increase productivity as well as profitability while delivering a superior finished product to the owner without any punch list or call back issues.

With the help of Talaske’s acoustical design expertise, Durrant beautifully delivered as an exceptional acoustical space to the Guthrie Theater owners.

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Cue at the Guthrie Theater

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