Developed and funded by Aylesbury Vale District Council, and designed by Arts Team – a specialist group within RHWL architects – the £42 million ($66.4 million) theatre is the principal entertainment venue for Aylesbury and surrounding areas. The venue has been designed to host everything from light entertainment to pop concerts, touring opera, ballet, theatre and community events.
The 1,200-seat Aylesbury Waterside theatre is designed to be bigger than the current Aylesbury civic centre and offers more flexibility for users. Arts Team has developed a new architectural approach for this auditorium in response to the particular brief. In the foyers, Arts Team has tried to push the boundaries of timber frame construction by creating large free-form volumes.
The architectural design has been inspired by the Chiltern Hills and surrounding woodland areas. Timber columns and fins are used on the exterior of the building and the undulating roof. A sculpted slate plinth that rises and falls will wrap the building.
The theatre features flexible acoustic system designed by global practice Arup. Helen Butcher, acoustic consultant at Arup says that the team has made use of ‘CARMEN’ electro-acoustic enhancement system, designed by Centre Scientifique et Technique du Bâtiment (CSTB) to ensure acoustic flexibility of the theatre. Isabelle Schmich, CSTB explains that the system helps in recreating the acoustic conditions desirable for ballet, opera and classical concerts with orchestra or choir. The system will also enhance natural speech, increasing the presence of the projected voice of the actor.
The relatively neutral acoustic of the relatively neutral acoustic and its less physical size – the roof is up to 5m lower than the traditional ‘concert hall’ – made the space suitable for amplified sound systems. The reverberance needed for selected performances can be recreated subtly via microphone and loudspeaker ‘cells’ distributed around the auditorium.
Aylesbury Waterside Theatre is part of Aylesbury Vale District Council’s Waterside scheme – a programme to redevelop the county town to support its growing success as an economic destination. A new public space outside the theatre recently saw the unveiling of a Ronnie Barker statue to celebrate the late actor’s early stage career in the town.
The Ambassador Theatre Group will manage Aylesbury Waterside on the council’s behalf.
