What we do
Sixty years of focused expertise
H3 is not a generalist firm. We have spent six decades deepening our understanding of a single building type — the place where people gather to share an experience. That focus is our competitive advantage.
New theaters require a rare combination of technical precision and spatial intelligence. We design for the actor's voice, the audience's body, and the community's spirit — in that order. Every seat must feel like it was designed for the person sitting in it.
- Proscenium, thrust, and flexible configurations
- Adjustable acoustics for music, drama, and dance
- Sightlines engineered from the first schematic
- Technical theater infrastructure — rigging, lighting, audio, video
- LEED and sustainable design integration
- Urban infill and complex constrained-site design
Academic performing arts facilities serve three masters simultaneously: the student who must learn, the faculty who must teach, and the community that must be engaged. We have designed more than fifteen university arts centers and understand this program in ways no generalist firm can match.
- Pre-design programming and feasibility studies
- Multi-venue facilities serving multiple departments
- Dance, theater, and music facilities in a single building
- Flexible spaces that maximize utilization and earned revenue
- Campus master planning and siting analysis
- Fundraising presentation support
America's historic theaters are irreplaceable — but they must function as contemporary venues to survive. H3's approach begins with deep archival research and a commitment to understanding what the original designers intended. We then ask how much needs to change — not how much we can change.
- Landmarks and historic preservation navigation
- Technical infrastructure modernization
- Original material, ornament, and finish restoration
- Phased construction in active, operating venues
- Adaptive reuse of adjacent structures
- Broadway and touring production technical standards
Many of our most important contributions happen before a project is formally approved. H3's feasibility studies have helped cities, universities, and arts organizations make better decisions about what to build, where to build it, and how to pay for it.
- Site analysis and multi-site comparison studies
- Program development and spatial validation
- Budget development and detailed cost modeling
- Fundraising materials and board presentation support
- Urban arts district planning
- Community engagement and public outreach processes
The interior of a theater is where the design either succeeds or fails. H3's interior design practice is led by Daria Pizzetta, FAIA, who has spent thirty years integrating exterior architecture with the intimate, technically complex world of the performance interior.
- Acoustic consultant coordination and integration
- Adjustable acoustics for variable programming
- Lobby, public space, and front-of-house design
- Backstage and production support space planning
- Furniture, fixture, and equipment selection
- Lighting design for public spaces
H3 is a New York firm, and we have been part of New York's cultural life for sixty years. We understand the city's landmarks process, its community board dynamics, its union requirements, and its extraordinary density of cultural organizations — each with a unique identity and history.
- NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission navigation
- Community board and public review processes
- Nonprofit theater client experience
- BAM Cultural District and Off-Broadway context
- Mid-size house and black box theater expertise
- Cultural institution board presentation experience