How The Music Center Can Turn Lobby Space Into Artist Friendly Co Working
Updated: Oct 2
A theater lobby sits empty for much of the day, then transforms at night into a place of arrival, anticipation, and performance. That gap between daytime quiet and evening activity is full of possibility.
In August 2019, the Los Angeles Performing Arts Center, also known as The Music Center or TMC, engaged Victor Gotesman and Teresa Koberstein to explore a practical question: could the lobby spaces inside the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion serve as daytime co-working space?
The idea sounds simple at first. Open the doors. Add tables, chairs, Wi-Fi, coffee, and outlets. Invite people in.
The reality is more complex. The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion is not a vacant commercial property. It is a performing arts venue with a public mission, a major civic presence, and nightly operational demands. Any daytime use would need to support the institution rather than distract from it.
The strongest version of the idea is not a generic co-working lounge. It is an artist-centered work and gathering space that uses the strengths of The Music Center: public presence, cultural credibility, central location, and deep ties to creative communities.
The opportunity is bigger than unused square footage
Many arts facilities have spaces that work hard at night and sit underused during the day. Lobbies are especially interesting because they already carry a public function. They welcome people, frame the institution’s identity, and create a sense of access.
For The Music Center, activating the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion lobbies during daytime hours could do several things at once:
Bring more people into the building outside performance times
Offer practical support to artists and small arts organizations
Build a stronger bridge between TMC and the creative community
Make a civic arts space feel more open and used
Create a new platform for informal exchange, rehearsal planning, grant writing, production work, and peer connection
That said, the program should not begin with the question, “How can this space compete with commercial co-working?” It should begin with a better question: What can The Music Center offer that a commercial co-working brand cannot?
The answer is mission.
A commercial co-working company offers workplace amenities. The Music Center can offer proximity to a major performing arts ecosystem. It can offer belonging, visibility, and a sense that artists are not being squeezed into someone else’s model.
That distinction matters. If the program tries to compete on market terms, it will likely face the same costs, expectations, and customer demands as any other co-working space. If it aligns with TMC’s mission, it can become something more specific and more valuable.
The core challenge has three parts
The feasibility study had to address three linked questions. Each one affects the others.
The economics must make sense
A daytime co-working program has real costs. Even if the space already exists, the program does not run for free.
Potential expenses could include:
Staffing and check-in
Cleaning and custodial support
Furniture setup and storage
Wi-Fi access and technical help
Security and building access
Signage and wayfinding
Program management
Insurance and administrative costs
Coffee, water, or light hospitality if included
A common mistake in space activation projects is treating empty time as free inventory. It is not. Time in a major performing arts venue has costs, especially when the space must return to performance-ready condition every evening.
Low daily rates may help artists participate, but they will not cover the full expense of operating the program. That means the financial model should be honest from the start.
The program should be designed as a mission-aligned service with earned revenue support, not as a stand-alone commercial real estate product.
This does not make the idea weak. It makes the business model clearer.
The program must fit TMC’s mission and values
The Music Center’s public role is not just to host performances. It also has a broader civic and cultural identity. Any lobby activation should strengthen that role.
Inclusivity should not be treated as a slogan attached after the program is designed. It should shape the design choices from the beginning.
That means asking practical questions:
Who can afford to use the space?
Who feels welcome in the building?
Are independent artists included, not just established organizations?
Can artists with different schedules and disciplines participate?
Are access needs considered in the layout and policies?
Does the program reflect the communities that make up Los Angeles?
If the space feels exclusive, difficult to enter, or built around a narrow definition of professional success, it will miss the point. An artist-friendly co-working program should reduce barriers, not reproduce them inside a cultural landmark.
The daily setup must be realistic
The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion lobbies close for evening performances. That creates a major operational constraint. Co-working cannot leave behind clutter, equipment, furniture, cables, signage, or a mood that conflicts with the evening experience.
The space would need to be set up and taken down each day.
That calls for a compact, repeatable system. The program should feel intentional while in use, then disappear cleanly before performance operations begin.
Why TMC should not compete with the co-working market
Los Angeles already has many places where people can rent a desk, book a conference room, or buy a membership for a flexible workspace. A cultural institution does not need to copy that model.
Commercial co-working spaces often sell privacy, convenience, amenities, and professional polish. The Music Center’s advantage is different. It can offer an arts-centered environment and a clear public purpose.
Trying to match the commercial market would create problems.
It could push prices too high for the artists the program should serve. It could lead to amenity expectations that are hard to meet in a lobby. It could also blur the identity of the program. A performing arts center should not feel like it is simply renting out a lobby between shows.
A better strategy is to build the program around artists and arts organizations above all others.
That focus creates several benefits:
It gives the program a clear identity
It supports TMC’s role in the arts ecosystem
It justifies contributed revenue support
It helps keep pricing low
It creates a community that fits the building
It avoids direct comparison with commercial providers
This is where How The Music Center Can Turn Lobby Space Into Artist Friendly Co Working becomes less about furniture and more about purpose. The space should work because it serves a need that aligns with TMC’s mission.
Artists should help design the program
One of the strongest recommendations is also one of the simplest: include artists in the design phase.
That does not mean asking for feedback after the concept is finished. It means involving artists early enough that their input changes the program.
Artists can help answer questions that administrators may not see clearly from the inside:
What price point feels possible for a daily pass?
What hours would actually be useful?
Is drop-in access more valuable than monthly membership?
What kind of seating supports creative work without turning the lobby into an office?
What rules would make people feel welcome rather than monitored?
Which amenities are essential and which are nice but unnecessary?
How can the space support both quiet work and informal connection?
Artists work in many ways. Some need a quiet place to write grants. Some need to coordinate collaborators. Others need a place to read, edit, plan, sketch, or handle the administrative load that comes with creative work.
The design should not assume one type of artist or one type of workday.
A useful design process could include listening sessions, paid artist advisors, short pilot days, and feedback forms. The key is to compensate artists when their time and expertise shape the program. If the program is meant to support artists, the design process should model that respect.
The pricing model should protect access
If the program’s main users are artists and arts organizations, pricing must reflect that.
Daily rates should sit at a low price point. That does not mean the program has no value. It means the value is being shared in a way that supports the cultural field.
A simple pricing structure could work better than a complex membership system, especially in a pilot phase. For example, TMC could test:
Program element | Practical approach |
Daily access | Low-cost pass for individual artists |
Group access | Limited reservations for small arts organizations |
Community days | Free or sponsored days for priority groups |
Partner support | Subsidized access through arts funders or donors |
Add-on fees | Avoid them where possible to keep the program simple |
The main point is that earned revenue should not carry the full burden. If the program is priced low enough to serve artists, contributed revenue will need to cover a meaningful share of the cost.
That subsidy should be treated as part of the mission, not as a failure of the model. Public and philanthropic support often helps make cultural access possible. The same logic can apply here.
Contributed revenue could support:
Artist access passes
Staffing
Furniture and equipment
Accessibility improvements
Pilot evaluation
Community partnerships
Free or reduced-rate days
This approach also gives funders a clear story. Their support would help convert an iconic cultural space into a practical resource for working artists during hours when it would otherwise be quiet.
The daily operating model should be light and repeatable
The physical design should respect the evening performance schedule. That means no heavy buildout, no permanent workstations, and no setup that takes too long to remove.
A workable daytime system should be:
Easy to install
Easy to store
Clear to navigate
Accessible
Durable
Consistent from day to day
Fully removable before evening use
The layout could use zones rather than fixed offices. A quiet zone could support writing and focused work. A conversation zone could support informal collaboration. A resource zone could include check-in, information, and basic supplies.
The program would also need clear cutoff times. If an evening performance requires the lobby to close at a certain hour, co-working users should know that from the start. The rhythm of the building should be part of the program identity.
A strong daily flow might look like this:
Staff opens the designated lobby area and sets up movable furniture.
Users check in through a simple access process.
The space operates with clear guidelines for noise, food, personal items, and shared use.
Staff gives a closing reminder before teardown.
Furniture, signage, and supplies return to storage.
Custodial teams reset the lobby for evening performance use.
The goal is not to hide the building’s dual life. The goal is to choreograph it well.
A pilot would reduce risk
TMC would not need to launch a full program all at once. A pilot would allow the team to test demand, operations, pricing, layout, and staffing before making larger commitments.
A strong pilot could run on selected weekdays, with a limited number of participants and a clear evaluation plan. The pilot should be long enough to reveal patterns but small enough to adjust quickly.
Useful measures could include:
Number of daily users
Repeat visits
Mix of disciplines and organizations served
User satisfaction
Setup and teardown time
Staff workload
Operational conflicts with performances
Cost per user
Donor or partner interest
The pilot should also track who is not showing up. If the program mainly attracts people who already feel comfortable in major arts institutions, it may need stronger outreach. If independent artists find the price or access process difficult, those barriers should be addressed before expansion.
The best version is a civic arts resource
The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion lobby can become more than a waiting area before a performance. During the day, it can serve as a place where creative workers handle the often invisible labor that keeps art alive.
That includes writing proposals, planning productions, building budgets, reading scripts, editing materials, coordinating small teams, and finding a few hours of focus in a city where space is expensive.
For The Music Center, the opportunity is not to enter the co-working business. The opportunity is to extend its public value into the hours before the curtain rises.
The recommendations point to a clear path:
Serve artists and arts organizations first
Keep daily rates low
Use contributed revenue to cover the gap
Include artists in the design process
Build a lightweight setup and teardown system
Test the idea through a focused pilot
Measure success against mission, not only revenue
A lobby activation program will work only if it respects both sides of the building’s life. By day, it can offer access, support, and creative connection. By night, it can return to its role as a ceremonial threshold for performance.
That is the balance. Keep the economics honest, keep the mission visible, and let the space serve the artists who give the larger arts ecosystem its reason to exist.
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