THEATRE ROYAL LONG DOCK
Client: Really Useful Group
Location: Theatre Royal, London, UK
Completion: March 2012
Really Useful Group own seven theatres in the West End of London, all of which contain, to varying degrees, redundant spaces – largely due to the changes in usage patterns since their construction. Most date back to the late 19th century. The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is older and contains some very large ballet, scene painting and storage areas some of which were are no longer used. The planning use group for theatres is ‘Sui Generis’ (this use class encompasses any activity connected with theatres), thus it was possible to convert a large area in the Theatre Royal known as ‘The Long Dock’ to office use for the Really Useful theatre management team. The strategy adopted was to design all elements as loose fixtures and fittings such that no damage was done to the existing fabric of the building. The space is very tall with exposed brick walls and timber roof structure. A scheme was developed that created a visually clean and sharp installation – the contrast between new and old is striking and creates an uplifting and exciting working environment. Lighting uses a track system suspended above the central circulation spine, augmented as required by individual LED task lights.