Design play on now

Once you reach the park, however, and turn toward the main facade, the center erupts with life. A towering glass wall extends up the front of the building, exposing the entire lobby. Inside, rehearsal rooms are set on top of one another like unevenly stacked crates. When I first saw this view — at night, with the rooms lighted from behind — it made me think of gigantic figures on a stage jostling for space. It also suggested the lobby of Charles Garnier’s 19th-century Paris opera house, a soaring space where the public is as much a part of the spectacle as the works being performed onstage. But while Garnier’s creation reflected the exhibitionistic spirit of Paris’s rising bourgeoisie, drawing the energy of the well-dressed crowds strolling the boulevards up through the building, Mr. Gehry’s vision is more casual and democratic. People who can’t afford the price of a ticket will be able to set up folding chairs in the park and watch live feeds of performances, which will be projected onto the side of the building. During the day, when no performances are going on, visitors will be able to wander through the lobby and see directly into one of the main rehearsal halls. Paying concertgoers, on the other hand, are likely to arrive through the back door: a concrete parking structure tucked behind the building and wrapped in a lightweight metal screen decorated with colorful LED images. From there they will cross a bridge to a second-floor mezzanine, where they can gaze out at a spectacular view of the city’s Art Deco skyline, or (if they arrive late) look down at musicians preparing to enter the main hall. A vertiginous staircase, snaking down between the rehearsal rooms, will deposit them in the main lobby. The idea, according to Mr. Thomas, is not just to allow the audience to observe musicians going about their daily tasks, but also to draw musicians “out of their bubble” and make them more aware of the public around them. In doing so, he hopes to create a more accessible musical experience.