One of the major new large architectural structures in Philadelphia is the Kimmel Center. The building houses two large theater spaces, Verizon Hall and the Perelman Theater. The building was designed by architect Rafael Vinoly.

The Kimmel Center is 146 ' high , 400 ' long, and 250 ' wide. It sits on a 2.3-acre site. This view is from Broad Street (looking North).		The balcony spaces seen here and the indoor/outdoor restaurant (seen in gray at the photo at left) are cantilevered on the outside of the building.
As seen from the rooftop garden (top), the the roof structure is a series of inverted semicircular V-shaped trusses. The trusses are covered by 5,808 glass panels.		There are 3.6 acres (156,677 square feet) of glass glazing.
Large curved I-beams support the end walls. Steel cables that are 7/8" thick suspend steel weights, each weighing 12 tons. The glass panels are attavhrf at the corners to the cables. Silicone seals the edges of the panes.The wall can flex 2 1/2 ' in either direction in high winds.		The 650 seat Perelman Theater (seen at left) features a rotating stage that allows two different sets to be used at the same time. The stage can be rotated in 6 minutes. The 2,547 seat Verizon Hall (seen at right) is coverd with Makore wood, which is resistant to the sun's ultraviolet rays and the fading they often cause.
Throughout the building many cantilever structures are found such as the walkways seen above. Similarly the walkways on the exterior of the wooden Verizon Concert Hall and bar area on the exterior of the Perelman Theater (seen in the photo at right) are cantilevered out over the spaces below.		A cafe and bar area is located on Commonwealth Plaza (between the concert halls). A performance stage is also found in this open area (bottom left).
Walkways connecting to Verizon Hall are actually cantilevered from the exterior wall.		Note how the walkway floats seperately from the wooden Verizon Hall structure. This is done to eliminate any possible vibration from the street or subway.

Acoustics is the science of sound.The concert halls at the Kimmel Center were designed with acoustics as a first priority. The many structural features of the auditoriums determine how well sounds are heard in these spaces.

The interior of the Verizon Hall is cello shaped; in many ways the hall itself acts as a musical instrument. The interior of Verizon hall is finished in teak wood and there are no flat surfaces to produce any echoes. Doors at the side walls are opened into empty rooms to enlarge the sound. These empty rooms act as reverberation chambers.

Both concert halls sit on rubber pads - 120 for the Perelman Theater and 225 pads for Verizon Hall. The pads absorb street and subway vibrations that could disrupt a concert. Also with such control of the sound the halls can be used for making recordings.