Visionary design for Symphony Center jettisoned

But what was billed as Calatrava's "postcard" for Atlanta will not be transferred up Peachtree.

"We know that a site dictates design, and to assume you could pick up that design and move it to a different site doesn't make sense," Woodruff vice president Virginia Vann said.

She said Calatrava has not been advised that his origami-like design, topped by an 18-story-high arch, will not be built.

"There will be a process" to determine a design for the new site, Vann said, and Calatrava "will be invited to participate." Vann said it's possible aspects of the original design may survive.

It's not clear if that process will entail another competition.

The architect's New York publicist said Tuesday that Symphony Center was not on a list of his firm's current projects.

Calatrava rose to prominence for unusual structures that are aerodynamic and anthropomorphic. The Milwaukee Museum of Art's Quadracci Pavilion, his first U.S. building, earned raves. Time magazine named the expansion the best design of 2001.

Long in need of a home with superior acoustics and seeking a sleek architectural statement to symbolize its growing ambitions, the ASO was catching an international star when it awarded Calatrava the Symphony Center commission. But some potential donors never cottoned to the 3.8-acre site along 14th Street.

The center would have fit within a circle of Midtown high-rises, with one of those buildings obscuring the view from Peachtree. The design featured a pair of hydraulic steel "wings" folded over the glass atrium that would open into a "V" during ASO concerts.

One arts leader called it "a completely new architectural statement for Atlanta." But some potential donors felt the site was wrong and the design too costly.

Joe Bankoff, Woodruff president and CEO, makes no secret of his interest in continuing to build the Woodruff campus as a beehive of the arts.

The plan being presented to the board today is a "footprint for the campus of the future," but with no architectural plan for the new concert hall attached.

The new master plan, developed by Boston-based Sasaki Associates, has focused on logistical issues, including if the internal needs of a concert hall can be accommodated on the southwest corner of the Woodruff campus, one of nine sites considered.

The new hall would connect to the arts center's cavernous basement, an arrangement that would allow a 2,000-seat hall to fit on the small plaza. It would also make it possible for some facilities, such as rehearsal rooms, to remain, reducing costs.

Woodruff officials said the ASO and the Alliance Theatre would be able to perform in their regular spaces during construction.

The board of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra approved the new hall site, without a price tag or timeline specified, in March.

Fund-raisers on Calatrava's project had trouble raising the $300 million. Private donors pledged $114 million before the drive was halted two years ago.

Bankoff said that the arts center is confident that donors are still on board even with the change of venues. The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, which had pledged $35 million, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

ASO and Woodruff leaders had said that public funding would have to pay for a third of the price tag of the original plan, but a commitment from state and city government never materialized. This week, Woodruff officials said the new site would still require public funding.

Bankoff said the troubled economy will not be an insurmountable challenge. "It's the perfect time to plan for the future and to figure out what the new normal will be," he said. "We'll move forward when we can, given the challenges and opportunities the economy may present."