Architecture and design news:
arts & culture
New £5m transformation of Southend Pier
by Caroline Wilkinson | 26 May 2009
A design competition to transform the 1.33-mile, fire-damaged Southend Pier in Southend-on-Sea has been launched by the borough council. In collaboration with the Landscape Institute and the Royal Institute of British Architects, Southend-on-Sea Borough Council has created a design brief with the intentions of re-establishing the pier as a "must-see destination for all visitors". The council wants to transform the Grade II-listed pier, built in 1830, into a cultural destination
New wing opens at Chicago Art Institute
by Helen Patenall | 20 May 2009
The US$300m (£193.5m, 220m euro) Modern Wing at the Art Institute of Chicago, US, has opened to public this week. The 24,500sq m (264,000sq ft) extension, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano has increased the museum's floor space to more than a million square feet, making it the second largest art museum in the US. The three-storey extension, which is covered by a sun-shade system allowing natural light to
Mayflower Theatre set for £1.6m revamp
by Pete Hayman | 08 May 2009
Southampton's Mayflower Theatre is set to undergo an extensive £1.6m refurbishment this summer in a bid to upgrade the venue's backstage and production facilities. The theatre will close for 12 weeks between June and August in order to allow the work to be carried out, although the box office and its conference and meeting room facilities will operate as normal. It is expected that the new backstage area, which will
Aylesbury theatre topped out
by Tom Walker | 01 May 2009
Construction work on the £35m Aylesbury Waterside Theatre has reached topping out stage. The concept for the theatre, scheduled to open next year, was developed by Aylesbury Vale District Council and theatre designers RHWL Arts Team. The venue will have a 1,200-seat auditorium that can be converted into a 1,800-capacity hall for standing events, and a 225-seat suite for smaller events including dance, drama, meetings and conferences. The new theatre,
Design Museum plans enrage heritage groups
by Caroline Wilkinson | 01 May 2009
New plans for the radical mixed-use redevelopment of London's Grade II-listed Commonwealth Institute building in Holland Park have angered heritage groups. The designs have been submitted to the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea Council (RBK&C) by the Office of Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), with the intention of converting the building into a possible new home for the Design Museum. The redevelopment, led by developers Chelsfield Partners, includes the removal of
Colston Hall foyer completed
by Luke Tuchscherer | 29 Apr 2009
Work on the foyer at the £20.3m Colston Hall music and performance venue in Bristol has been completed. Main contractors Willmott Dixon handed over the keys to the building to Bristol City Council at a ceremony on 20 April to mark the completion of the work. The foyer, which features an atrium crossed by bridges at upper floor levels, was designed by architects at Levitt Bernstein Associates. The bridges connect
£1bn regeneration of Kidbrooke gets go-ahead
by Caroline Wilkinson | 28 Apr 2009
Plans for the £1bn transformation of the former Ferrier Estate and neighbouring Kidbrooke area in south-east London, have been approved by Greenwich Council and will include an array of leisure facilities. As part of the Kidbrooke Vision masterplan, Thomas Tallis secondary school will be redeveloped to include a dual-use gymnastics centre, martial arts dojo, a flood lit all-weather sports pitch and a six-court sports hall, designed for county and regional
New pavilions unveiled for Milennium Park
by Caroline Wilkinson | 21 Apr 2009
Plans for two new temporary pavilions for Chicago's Milennium Park, US, have been revealled to mark the 100th anniversary of Daniel Burnham's 1909 masterplan, which outlined the controlled growth of city. Designed by London-based Zaha Hadid and Amsterdam-based UNStudio's Ben Van Berkel, the recyclable pavilions will be installed in the park this June and will be open to the public until October. The project was commissioned to celebrate Burnham's masterplan
Prada's rotating art space completed
by Caroline Wilkinson | 21 Apr 2009
Construction work on the travelling art exhibition space, Prada Transformer, has been completed and the installation is being prepared for its public opening on 25 April in the front yard of the 16th century Gyeonghui Palace in Seoul, Korea. Designed by Dutch architects Rem Koolhaas, partner of Office of Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), on behalf of fashion designer Prada, the structure will host a cinema festival, a contemporary art exhibition and
Work starts on new Leeds dance centre
by Pete Hayman | 21 Apr 2009
Work is now underway on the construction of a new £12m centre of excellence for dance in Leeds, which will become the new home of the Northern Ballet Theatre (NBT) and the Phoenix Dance Theatre (PDT). The new six-storey venue, which has been designed by the Strategic Design Alliance, a partnership between LCC's in-house architectural consultancy and Jacobs Architecture, will also house Leeds Metropolitan University's (LMU) new dance degree courses
Royal Court revamp put in spotlight
by Pete Hayman | 20 Apr 2009
Plans for the long-term future of the Grade II-listed Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool, which includes a multi-million pound refurbishment, have gone before the city council's Regeneration Select Committee. Discussions are now set to get underway between Liverpool City Council and trustees of the 1,250-seat venue in a bid to secure a lease agreement after the select committee admitted that it was impressed with a presentation by the Royal Court
Shrewsbury venue to undergo revamp
by Pete Hayman | 06 Apr 2009
Work is set to get underway on the restoration and redevelopment of a historic music hall in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, after the scheme secured a £1m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). The Shropshire Portal scheme will include the development of a new, sustainable museum and visitor information centre at the 13th century, Grade II*-listed Vaughan's Mansion and the Grade II-listed Music Hall and Assembly Rooms dating back to 1835.
Bedford Gallery reopens after £2.5m revamp
by Pete Hayman | 06 Apr 2009
A Grade II-listed gallery in Bedfordshire, which dates back to 1841 and has been closed to the public since the 1970s, has been reopened following the completion of a £2.5m refurbishment. The revamp of the Bedford Gallery marks the first phase of a wider £11.3m regeneration scheme designed to unite the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery and Bedford Museum buildings as part of a new flagship complex for the town. Funding
Final seal of approval for Shetland arts venue
by Caroline Wilkinson | 03 Apr 2009
The Shetland Arts Development Agency (SADA) is set to begin construction on its new £12m music, cinema and arts venue on the Shetland Islands in three weeks. The Mareel centre, on track to open in 2010, will be situated on Lerwick's waterfront, has been designed to drive Scotland's burgeoning cultural and economic development forward. Although the development is led by SADA, the Shetland Islands Council and a stakeholder group consisting
Revamp for Birmingham's REP theatre
by Caroline Wilkinson | 03 Apr 2009
The Birmingham Repertory Theatre (REP) is set to undergo a £193m overhaul as part of a joint scheme to redevelop the Library of Birmingham. The joint venture development, led by Birmingham City Council and The REP, is designed by Dutch architect Mecanoo to create a 31,000sq ft "centre for culture and knowledge" in Centenary Square. The library will be built adjacent to the theatre and integrated with The REP at
Cash injection for new Ipswich theatre
by Pete Hayman | 02 Apr 2009
Ipswich Borough Council (IBC) has announced that it is to contribute £75,000 towards a £400,000 scheme to establish a new theatre on the town waterfront, which is scheduled to open next year. The grant will go towards fitting out the new 220-seat Witchbottle Theatre, which will provide a new base for the Red Rose Chain, and will be used for theatre and cinema performances, as well as including a café,
Whitechapel Gallery to reopen
by Caroline Wilkinson | 30 Mar 2009
The completed £13.5m expansion of east London's Whitechapel Gallery is expected to open 5 April. The gallery, re-designed by Belgian architects Robbrecht & Daem and Witherford Watson Mann, is almost double the size after it merged with the adjacent Passmore Edwards library (built in 1892) increasing the 3,000sq ft space by 78 per cent. New features include three galleries dedicated to international art collections, new art commissioned by the gallery's
Sydney Opera House plans under threat
by Caroline Wilkinson | 27 Mar 2009
Plans to renovate the Sydney Opera House in Australia are threatened after the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd refused to back the estimated AUS$900m (£433m, €466m, US$630m) project claiming there was better use for the money. The announcement came the day after the New South Wales Premier Nathan Rees said the restoration was under "active consideration" by the budget committee. If the seven-year-long renewal project was to go ahead, the opera
Canterbury theatre scheme approved
by Pete Hayman | 23 Mar 2009
A gala event has been held to mark the closure of the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury, Kent, which is set to undergo a £25.6m revamp after the local authority approved plans for the redevelopment of the venue. Canterbury City Council (CCC) voted in favour of the proposals on 19 March, which will include a new 1,200-seat auditorium with improved acoustics and sightlines, as well as a second, smaller performance space
Council applies for Heaton Hall funding
by Tom Walker | 19 Mar 2009
Manchester City Council has made a bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) in order to secure funding towards the restoration of the historic Heaton Hall. The council has earmarked the restoration of the hall as the final part of a three-phase programme of improvements at Heaton Park in North Manchester, which has already seen the renovation of four of the park's other historic listed buildings including the Dower House
Bodleian Library unveils '21st century' plans
by Pete Hayman | 18 Mar 2009
Plans for the construction of a new book storage facility near Swindon, Wiltshire, have been unveiled by Oxford University as part of a new modernisation scheme at the Bodleian Library. The university has already acquired a 15-acre (6.1-hectare) site at South Marston on the outskirts of the Wiltshire town for the new high-density facility, which will house eight million volumes of low-demand items. It is expected that work on the
New operator for Whitley Bay venue
by Pete Hayman | 18 Mar 2009
SMG Europe is to take over the management of the Whitley Bay Playhouse theatre after North Tyneside Council (NTC) approved plans to enter into an operating agreement with the company. It is hoped that the deal will secure the future of the venue, which has been closed since August 2007, although will reopen in the autumn following an extensive £8m refurbishment programme. The revamp of the Playhouse theatre has included
Maxxi to open in 2009
by Tom Walker | 17 Mar 2009
Italy's newest art gallery, Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI Secolo (MAXXI) in Rome, is set for a 2009 launch. Zaha Hadid Architects have designed the museum to be reminiscent of an ‘urban campus’, a building that goes beyond interior spaces to include the entire city. The project includes two museums – MAXXI art and MAXXI architecture – which will revolve around a full-height grand hall that connects with a
£10m design for Royal Court Theatre revamp
by Caroline Wilkinson | 13 Mar 2009
The refurbishment of the Liverpool's Grade II-listed Royal Court Theatre has been allocated an architect following a public display of seven shortlisted designs. London-based Allford Hall Monaghan Morris' (AHMM) £10m proposal for the 71-year-old building was chosen and includes an enlarged entrance space for the 1,250-seat theatre – a 20-year-old rock music venue – with a digital screen and rooftop restaurant and bar. The middle two floors will also be organised
New theatre for Shakespeare playhouse site
by Pete Hayman | 11 Mar 2009
The Tower Theatre Company (TTC) has unveiled plans to build a new theatre on a site confirmed by Museum of London Archaeology as being the location of London's first purpose-built playhouse. An excavation of the site in Shoreditch, which is currently occupied by a disused warehouse, has uncovered what is believed to be the inner wall of The Theatre, a polygonal theatre built by James Burbage in 1576. Trustees of
New Lyric underway
by Helen Patenall | 11 Mar 2009
Construction work on a new building to house Belfast’s ageing Lyric Theatre is now underway. The £18m new build — designed by architects O’Donnell & Tuomey — will be constructed at a new location in order to provide a theatre almost four times the size of the original 1968 site. The Lyric’s new home will comprise a 394-seat main auditorium, a 150-seat studio theatre, a rehearsal room, riverfront foyers and
Funding plea for new Dundee landmark
by Pete Hayman | 10 Mar 2009
The Scottish Government has been called upon to help provide funding for the creation of a new landmark building on Dundee's waterfront that could house a proposed Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum. Kevin Keenan, chair of the Dundee Waterfront Board (DWB), wants to see an iconic 'anchor' building developed as part of the wider regeneration of the city's waterfront, in order to capture the public's imagination and to act as
Belfast venue reopens after £8.5m revamp
by Pete Hayman | 09 Mar 2009
The Ulster Hall, a historic 150-year old cultural venue in Belfast, Northern Ireland, has reopened following an extensive multi-million pound refurbishment scheme lasting two years. It is the first scheme to be completed as part of a series of major renovation projects taking place at buildings across the city, with St Malachy's Church, the City Hall and the Ulster Museum set to reopen later this year. Work on the £8.5m
Developer sought for arts scheme
by Pete Hayman | 05 Mar 2009
Southampton City Council (SCC) has launched a search for a development partner to take on the transformation of the city's former Tyrrell and Green department store as part of plans for a new cultural quarter. At the heart of plans for the mixed-use development, which has been designed by Assael and could cost up to £50m, is the creation of a new arts complex. A hotel, restaurants, cafés and education
Hastings gallery plans submitted
by Pete Hayman | 03 Mar 2009
Plans to create a new seafront contemporary art venue in Hastings, East Sussex, have been formally submitted to the local authority by the Jerwood Foundation. If Hastings Borough Council (HBC) approves the scheme, the Jerwood Gallery will house the foundation's collection of 20th and 21st century British art, as well as acting as a regional venue for the Jerwood Visual Arts programme. The proposed building, designed by HAT Projects, will
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