Close-up

Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods is a tribute to the arts and the environment. Its new Chrysalis amphitheater was built in a spacious park located in the center of downtown Columbia, Md.

The 5,000-square-foot structure was designed to embody a living organism that could be a native inhabitant of the surrounding ecosystem. With nine "legs" coming down to the foundation, the structure has eight asymmetric openings—one is for the main stage, and another acts as a smaller stage and primary entrance.

The structure was fabricated with metal beams covered in metal roof panels fabricated and installed by A. Zahner Co., Kansas City, Mo., to create a shell surrounding the stages. Coated in four custom green shades of the Sherwin-Williams Coil Coatings brand and Valspar's Fluropon^® Solar Reflect exterior architectural coating, 8,200 aluminum shingles cover the canopy from top to bottom.

The multiuse venue opened to the public during a 2017 Earth Day celebration.

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