By Leah Linhares
Photography: Courtesy Flanagan Lawrence
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Award winning design-led practice
Flanagan Lawrence wins international competition to restyle the Summer Theatre
in Szczecin, Poland.
Located in Kasprowicza Park
and originally designed by Zbigniew Abrahamowicz, the 1976-styled theatre will
be redesigned as an acoustically optimised outdoor performance space by the
London based firm.
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The design brief was
simple: to maximise the flexibility of the theatre for a variety of
performances on the stage and to add a new roof that would shelter both, the
stage and the audience.
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Contrary to the current
design of the theatre comprising a criss-cross roof and an open auditorium, Flanagan
Lawrence architects have devised a proposal, whereby the underside of the roof,
which covers the stage and front auditorium, will enhance and project the
natural acoustics of the orchestral events.
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In order to pull this off,
the roof is designed to be structurally independent of the existing concrete arch
and is formed by a curved truss, which serves as the edge beam to a single
cable net structure. This net structure will support a series of inflated
fabric roof panels and suspended acoustic reflectors, whilst two additional
trusses will span the stage to support the load of the lighting grid.
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| Arial view of the roof - in plan |
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| Deconstructed diagram of the roof |
This proposal offers an
elegant double-curved roof shape that will follow the natural slope of the
amphitheatre on the existing hillside, retaining the views across the park and
then will dramatically lift over the main stage providing the necessary height
for the performance area. The rear of the stage will be acoustically treated by
way of curved glazed screens offering picturesque views of the Rusalka Lake, simultaneously
creating a scenic backdrop to performances.
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| Rear view of the roof - in plan |
This refurbishment proposal
will also upgrade the 2,500 seat structure with additional facilities including
a box office, bathrooms, a café and a refurbished backstage area. The project
is set to be completed in 2018.
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