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new home for Christchurch venue
Haworth Tompkins are working with The Court Theatre and Christchurch City Council on a new venue in the city’s Performing Arts Precinct. Haworth Tompkins led the project from concept design before handing over to New Zealand-based practice Athfield Architects during preliminary design. Now at the end of detailed design, the project has been a collaboration with Athfield throughout.
The three-storey building will make use of natural materials, ventilation and light. It will house two auditoriums; a 365-seat main playhouse, and a 130-seat studio theatre, where children’s and family shows can be held. All aspects of a working theatre, including set-building, costume-making, rehearsals and administration, will be based on site, with plans to make these usually back-stage activities more visible to the public.
The team are also working on the design for public space in the Performing Arts Precinct. A series of laneways will draw people to a central courtyard, which will be used for a range of outdoor performances.
Construction is expected to begin in 2022 and the theatre is due to open in 2024.
