Important events
People
History
Original Purpose: The Old Vic Theatre production workshops and paint shops
Date of construction: 1958
Style: brutalist architecture
Restructuring: Haworth Tompkins
Restructuring date: 2008
Current use: The National Theatre John Lyon Education Studio
Construction in 1958 of the Old Vic scene shops was designed by architect Lyons Israel Ellis as the first building in England to serve this particular purpose, as part of extending the neighbouring Old Vic theatrebuilding (close to the Waterloo railway station). According to the design it was built of poured concrete with brick filling and served its purpose for only a short time. It hosted paint shops, scenic shops and costume shops that moved in 1976 to the newly erected building of The National Theatre. The windowless upper part of the façade along the street is meant to indicate that the building has large, high-level paint shops on upper floors. These spaces are all lit from above and have no windows or openings. Thus, the upper part of the façade projects a peculiar impression – robust and blind. The said spaces were used for painting of flats that were attached to moveable metal frames. When the workshops moved out, the Lyons Israel Ellis building lost its purpose. In 2005 it was Grade II listed as an exemplary brutalist building. In compliance with the NT Future vision The National Theatre decided to convert the building to a house of studios, despite acoustic and thermoinsulatory deficiencies and poor condition of construction concretes.
The tender for reconstruction was won by architects of the Haworth Tompkins studio, founded in 1991 by architects Graham Haworth (1960) and Steve Tompkins (1959). In 2007 the workshops were converted to a learning centre, theatrical studios and an archive open to the public. Initially the architects wanted to leave the building in its raw condition but in the end they had to replace around 50 per cent of the damaged concrete construction by a new one. One of the original walls, soaked with paint and glue, was left in place as a reminder of former workshops. The building’s new technical infrastructure has been based upon an industrial concept (as concerns heating, lighting, ventilation).
The building currently houses an archive (open to the public), a learning centre, rehearsal stages and private study rooms for script writers. The envisaged goal was to transform the premises into an incubator in which to develop new ideas; into spaces where writers, theatre directors and other theatrical practitioners can test out their ideas directly on the spot. Signs outside the building invite people to visit. The building is home to the NT archive that has moved over here from Victorian depots in Brixton, as well as to the first permanent theatre education space – The National Theatre John Lyon Education Studio.
Author: Marcela Steinbachová
Marcela Steinbachová:
Semperdepot, La Fenice Theatre Scenic Shops, Teatro alla Scala Theatre Scenic Shops, Teatro di San Carlo Scenic Shops, Rehearsal Stages and Admin Offices, Teatro Regio Scenic Shops in Parma, Teatro dell'opera di Roma Scenic Shops, am Wriezener Bahnhof, Französische Strasse 33D, Französische Strasse 30, Chauseestrasse 28, Zehdenicker Strasse, Newport Street, The Cut, South Bank, Purfleet, Theatre Depots and Scenic Shops, Arsenal, The Royal Provincial German Theatre scenic shop, Apolinář, Divadelní Street, Flóra, Korunní, PreslovaTranslator: Jiří Pilucha
Jiří Pilucha:
Semperdepot, La Fenice Theatre Scenic Shops, Teatro alla Scala Theatre Scenic Shops, Teatro di San Carlo Scenic Shops, Rehearsal Stages and Admin Offices, Teatro Regio Scenic Shops in Parma, Teatro dell'opera di Roma Scenic Shops, am Wriezener Bahnhof, Französische Strasse 33D, Französische Strasse 30, Chauseestrasse 28, Zehdenicker Strasse, Newport Street, The Cut, South Bank, Purfleet, Theatre Depots and Scenic Shops, Arsenal, The Royal Provincial German Theatre scenic shop, Apolinář, Divadelní Street, Flóra, Korunní, PreslovaAdditional information
No information has yet been entered
Add information