In its former location in West Valley, Utah, executives at Hale Centre Theatre did not have to worry about outside noise interfering with the quality of the performances at the popular venue.
That changed dramatically, however, when Hale Centre officials planned in 2014 to move 25 miles south to Sandy City. Not only would the theater now have two stages, but the new location where it planned to construct its new home sat adjacent to Interstate 15, where more than 260,000 vehicles traverse daily. The new theater also falls directly in the flight path of Salt Lake City International Airport, about 30 miles to the north. With cars, planes and competing performances, one of the major challenges for architects and engineers was keeping noise out of the stage venues. “The sound issues were pretty intense,” said Lyle Beecher of Beecher Walker Architects, whose firm designed the theater.