The foyer extension for Scottish Opera at Glasgow’s Category ‘A’ listed Theatre Royal was focused on creating a transformational experience for audiences, encouraging wider community engagement and building a sustainable business for the future. The new build extension occupies a prominent city centre corner site provides an opportunity to signal the Theatre Royal in a dramatic way and provide this important public building with an appropriate civic presence.

Comprising stacked public foyers that link through to the historic auditorium at all levels, the curved form of the extension reflects the curvilinear balconies of the theatre. A central dramatic staircase links all levels, allowing wayfinding to become intuitive. ‘Bookends’, either side of the foyer house lifts, toilets, interval bars, new hosting areas, offices, and a dedicated Education Suite. The café and box office are open during the day and animate the street level, with visitors encouraged to explore the upper level foyers, culminating with the discovery of the roof terrace at balcony level – commanding panoramic views across the city. The new extension has transformed the theatre into a full day facility that feels equally comfortable both during quieter periods and supporting a full house audience.

Brief

This project focused on improving the audience experience on ‘the journey from street to seat’. In common with many historic theatres the facilities did not match the expectation of todays’ audiences with cramped foyers, bars and toilets, and no lift access to the upper balconies which proved challenging for many. The new foyer extension is a contemporary reinterpretation of the fine auditorium, with the elliptical form echoing the curved balcony fronts and the Rimex cladding providing a link to the lavish historic theatre interior. The glazed extension is visually transparent and the open foyers welcoming to all.

A new education suite allows both our Client Scottish Opera and the operator Ambassadors Theatre Group to deliver their participation programme from the theatre. With new opportunities for hospitality and increased bar revenue, the new extension is a success functionally and has increased the financial resilience of the theatre. A key move was to make a democratic space, with two large lifts serving all levels, and a playful and dramatic stair rising up through the foyers, culminating in the roof terrace providing views across the city.

Interiors

The exterior form and the interior of the new foyers were carefully conceived as a holistic whole, with Page\Park responsible for the interior design and furniture selection throughout. The decision to push the structural frame to the perimeter provided the opportunity for cosy ‘bays’ to be created internally, where people naturally gravitate to the edge to take in views of the city, and interpretative and historical artefacts could be displayed.

The materials palette is a contemporary reinterpretation of the lavish gilded interior, with the limestone flooring and the timber linings provide warm contrast to the exposed fairfaced concrete structural frame. Colour is used to assist wayfinding, with the red ‘ribbon’ of the stair and the leather clad gently curved walls leading to the doors of the auditorium. Bar, cafe and box office counters were carefully designed to meet the functional requirements, and the repetitive layout of the core ensures that wayfinding is intuitive at every level.