US2703910A - Ambulatory amphitheatre - Google Patents

Description

.Mamh 1955 E. w. HOFFMEISTER 2,703,910

7 AMBULATORY AMPHITHEATRE Filed Jan. 11, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheei 1 AT O RJvE'y March I5; 1955 E W. HOFFMEISTER AMBULATORY AMPHITHEATRE s Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 11, 1952 March 15, 1955 E. w. HOFFMEISTER 2,

AMBULATORY AMPHITHEATRE I Filed Jan. 11, 1952 3FSheets-Sheet s Fig- @MSM I United States Patent O AMBULATORY AMPHITHEATRE Ernst W. Holfmeister, Munich, Bavaria, Germany Application January 11, 1952, Serial No. 266,051

Claims. (Cl. 201.12)

The invention concerns ambulatory amphitheatre structures wherein inclined galleries, for audiences composed of stationary and moving spectators, surround an arena or demonstration space on all-sides.

The invention seeks to provide simple and straightforward gallery construction which not only enables all the spectators on the gallery to view the arena from all positions, but which also facilitates a continuous replacement of the audience as required. When the same performance is to be repeated in the arena of an ambulatory amphitheatre continuously at relatively short time intervals, the economic success of the business depends very largely on replacing a considerable part of the audience after each performance.

According to the invention, starting from the highest level of the amphitheatre two or more galleries separated from one another by balustrades extend adjacent one another and spaced from one another in vertical disposition in the manner of a multiple passage conical spiral, and are so arranged that the spectators travel round the arena in two or. more, columns, each column using one of the galleries, before reaching the exit.

With a ,given holding capacity of the structure, i. c. with a given total length of galleries available, the invention considerably shortens the .path through which the spectators must pass when descending'fromthehighest level of the amphitheatre 'to the exit. By arrangement of two adjacent spiral paths separated from one another this path is halved, by providing three substantially spiral galleries the length of the path a spectator has to walk down is only one third of the total length of the galleries. For a given average walking speed the time taken by a spectator for the transit through the amphitheatre is correspondingly reduced.

Since the arrangement of thepathsin theform of spatial spirals necessitates certain constructive complications for the erection of the amphitheatre structure, a simplified form of construction of the invention is characterised in that individual convolutions of the paths are circular in plan, and hence descend in. helical lines and in each case cross by means of an inclined connection into the next following narrower path convolution.

The invention will be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section of an ambulatory amphitheatre structure viewed on the line I--[ of Fig. 2;

gig. 2 is a plan of the structure with roof removed; an

3 is a horizontal section on the line III-III of The side wall of the actual amphitheatre housing is formed from stanchions 1 which are disposed approximately in a circle and stand on beams 2, which are suitably arranged so as to lie on the earth floor. The wall surfaces 3 lying between the stanchions 1 are formed, for example, of sail-cloth which is stretched between the stanchions. Outside the side walls of the amphitheatre housing the pay ofiice stands on a stage 5, from which a gangway 6 in the form of a helical path leads up to and around the wall of the amphitheatre housing and is continued up to the highest level. This gangway comprises at its start the stairs 7 and 8 which are supported on the floor platform 2 by means of stanchions 9, while the upper part of the path is constituted by an inclined rising runway 10, which is attached by means of 2,703,910 Patented Mar. 15, 1955 a bracket-like support structure 11 externally to the main stanchions 1. The whole gangway 6 is covered over by a roof or awning 12, which can be formed of widths of sail-cloth.

At the position at which the spiral path reaches its highest point, it forks into two galleries 13 and 14, which extend adjacent one another as a coincal spiral having multiple paths disposed in mutually spaced height relationship. These adjacent paths are separated from one another by balustrades 15 and 16 so as to prevent the spectators changing paths, and to enable them to rest on or against these balustrades when viewing the performance. It will be noticed that the galleries 13 and 14 are much narrower than the runway 10.

In the example shown, the performance takes place in an upwardly open drum 17 which is rotatable about a vertical axis 18. The spectators, who enter the amphitheatre at the beginning of the galleries 13 or 14, are enabled to look down into the rotating drum from all positions on these two galleries.

The kind of exhibition and the construction of apparatus provided therefor is immaterial as regards the present invention. The drum 17 is therefore indicated only by chain-dotted lines in Figs. 2 and 3. It can obviously be replaced by other forms of apparatus.

At the end of the gallery 13, which is disposed-somewhat higher than the adjacent gallery 14, the spectators coming from the gallery 13 arrive by way of a short stair 19 at the level of the gallery 14. After this the spectators coming from both galleries 13 and 14 meet on a main exit platform 21 (Fig. 3) by way of a wide stair 20.

On platform 21, the exit from the galleries branches. One branch consists of wide stairs 22 and 23 and an intermediate platform 24 which lead down to the ground and the open air. Another branch leads down from the other side of the platform 21 by way of a stair 25 to a circular path 26, which lies below the upper edge of the drum 17 and thus enables spectators to get to the interior of the drum through a door 40 in the vertical wall of the drum, in case some of the spectators may wish to ride in the drum. From the round path 26 one arrives by way of the stair 27 at the intermediate platform 24 and from there likewise by way of the stair 23 at the exit.

With the example shown the spectators on traversing the galleries 13 and 14 move nearly twice around the arena or central field of the amphitheatre formed by the drum 17.

In the illustrated example these paths have circular plan and inclined cross galleries 28 and29 are provided, which lead from a surrounding-gallery of larger diameter to the adjoining surrounding gallery of smaller diameter.

The galleries 13 and 14 are carried by a suitable support structure 30. At the top the amphitheatre is covered by a roof 31, which likewise can be formed from stretched sail-cloth.

I claim:

1. An ambulatory amphitheatre comprising a substantially circular arena, a plurality of concentric gallery portions of substantially helical shape surrounding a major part of the circumference of said arena and being so disposed in relation to one another as to form outwardly ascending steps, inclined gallery portions surrounding the remaining minor part of the circumference of said area, each of said inclined gallery portions connecting one end of a first one of said concentric gallery portions with the opposite end of another one of said concentric gallery portions at least two steps above said first concentric portion.

2. A structure as claimed in claim 1 further comprising an entrance to said arena, an exit common to as many concentric gallery portions as there are steps over which any one of said inclined gallery portions extends, said exit including two branches, one of said branches leading to the outside and the other branch being connected to said entrance of said arena.

3. An ambulatory amphitheatre comprising an arena, a plurality of adjacent separate viewing galleries rising in receding convolutions and in the same direction around said arena, said plurality of galleries when considered in section having the relation of steps outwardly ascending, a common access to and a common exit from said galleries, whereby spectators admitted to the amphitheatre will be caused to travel around in at least two distinct columns.

4. A structure as claimed in claim 3, said galleries being so constructed and arranged that all spectators thereon are able to view the arena from all positions, said common access being at the upper ends, and said common exit being at the lower ends of said galleries, said access and said exit being approximately as wide as the total width of said galleries.

References Cited in the file of this patent Architectural Form, January 1946, page 85.

Images