Sadler's Wells Theatre
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Two walls enclosing the glazed entrance
Nicholas Kane (website) Download Original
Auditorium with 1,560 capacity, 80 seat orchestra pit, three foyer galleries with bars, plus rehearsal and teaching spaces
A concept emerged to use two enclosing walls as protection from the external environment. These are separated by a sheer glass pane on the front façade. The various elements that project from the structure are aligned with the axis of the auditorium within.
In the auditorium, good sightlines to all four corners of the stage and the need to accommodate the acoustic demands of both live orchestral sound and recorded music were major requirements.
The resulting space is a steeply raked, multi-tiered end-on auditorium with a 15m by 15m stage and 80 seat orchestra pit. Usually seating 1,560, it can be reconfigured to seat from 1,000 to 1,800. The stalls area can accommodate promenade or flat floor set-ups.
Data
- Begun: Sep 1996
- Completed: Oct 1998
- Sector: Arts and culture
- Total cost: £32M
- Address: Rosebery Avenue , London, EC1R 4TN, United Kingdom
Professional Team 
- Architect: RHWL
- Client: Sadler's Wells Trust
- Consultant architect: Nicholas Hare Architects
- Construction manager: Bovis Lehrer McGovern
- Structural engineer: Whitby Bird and Partners
- Services engineer: Battle McCarthy
- Cost consultant: Bucknall Austin
- Theatre consultant: Ian Albery
- Theatre consultant: Sadler's Wells Trust
- Acoustic consultant: Arup Acoustics
- Artificial Lighting Consultant: Lighting Design Partnership
- Theatre consultant: Carr and Angier
- Project Director: Roger Spence
- Development Adviser: Stanhope
- Project co-ordinator: Judy Monaghan
Suppliers
- Cladding: Trespa Meteon
- Cladding and glazing: English Architectural Glazing
- Architectural metalwork: Barker Shepley
- Roofing: Briggs Roofing and Cladding