What I love most about this new theatre building is its continuous use of a particular material, but in two forms. Ok, that’s a bit of a word play, for a good chunk of the building is made from board formed concrete. As the name implies, this is where planks of wood are used as the formwork for concrete, and the resulting surface of the concrete inherits the rich impression of these planks of wood. In other words, it looks like wood planks, only in concrete.
And this building uses it everywhere. The walls, the floors, the angular bits of the stairs, the rough and irregular texture permeates throughout. Sometimes it’s left as is, while sometimes it’s been stained slightly black to bring out further richness. Something about this really works for me in the theatre context.
Even better is when they pair it with actual wood planks (the second form I was alluding to above), giving this wonderful play between them where there is a continuation of texture yet still a difference in colour and feel.
A couple of simple materials deployed in multiple ways, I dig it!
Theatre Squared by Marvel (who also did the St. Ann’s Warehouse Theatre that I blogged about about here!)
Lynx Thoughts 