The Sheldon is a unique institution in the St. Louis cultural landscape, hosting a blend of music and visual arts. Located in the Grand Center arts district, it features a historic 700+ seat concert hall and an annex converted parking structure housing galleries, event spaces, and offices. Originally a 1920’s parking garage, the annex now serves as the public entrance to the concert hall but struggled with arrival experience, undersized lobbies, restrooms, limited vertical circulation, and poor wayfinding.
Trivers conducted a planning and conceptual study to address these challenges, enhance the art galleries’ presence, and improve wayfinding and visitor experience. The design reorganizes spaces by relocating gallery areas to the first-floor lobby, reconfiguring second-floor pre-function and support spaces, and introducing a new central communicating stair to connect the annex vertically. This creates a seamless flow from the lobby to the second-floor galleries, bar, and concert hall, visually and functionally connecting spaces.
The design strategy highlights original annex elements like concrete columns and polished concrete floors, creating a clean, simple aesthetic for the galleries while melding with a more refined material palette for the hospitality zones. Expanded restrooms and relocated bar functions further enhance the hospitality/pre-function areas, uniting the galleries with performance spaces. The redesigned second-floor pre-function area becomes a “living room” for the Sheldon, integrating its concert hall, galleries, and event spaces. This transformation embodies the institution’s mission of “arts without borders,” fostering connection among artists, performers, and the public.
Completion is expected Autumn 2025.
“Investment in this project is an investment in the cultural and economic health of the region.”
