Vancouver has the ambition, the artists, and the audiences of a world-class cultural city. What it has lacked is the room to perform in. Threshold provided acoustic support for a two-year feasibility study led by Diamond Schmitt Architects, shaping the vision for a new four-venue performing arts precinct in downtown Vancouver.

Guided by 32 of the city's leading performing arts organizations (spanning orchestral, opera, dance, chamber, and choral companies), the plan calls for a 400-seat Small Hall, an 850-seat Medium Hall, a 1,750-seat Concert Hall, and a 2,000-seat Large Proscenium venue. Each is designed around an acoustic-first philosophy, built to serve the full range of Vancouver's musical and performance traditions.

At 0.52 seats per thousand residents, Vancouver has the lowest per-capita concert hall capacity of any major Canadian city, a gap that has pushed touring productions toward Calgary and Seattle and left many of the city's most acclaimed ensembles without a home suited to their scale. Our team's acoustic input helped ground each of the four venue types in the specific needs, repertoire, and audience experience of the organizations that will perform in them.

The proposal will continue into predesign, with site selection, economic impact analysis, and funding strategy to follow. Construction is anticipated to begin between 2029 and 2034, with rolling openings as each venue is completed.

Access the full plan.