Haworth was asked to prepare a Conservation Management Plan, followed by a master plan to improve foyers, address the National Theatre’s links with surrounding public areas, enhance sustainability and explore possibilities for new participation and workshop spaces.
The new design by Howarth features relocation of the bookshop to the back of the foyer, in an attempt to make the entrance wider and to restore the original orientation as conceived by Sir Denys Lasdun, an eminent English architect of the 20th century. Plant equipment within the service yard will be shifted to the theater workshop at the south end and a terrace café will be created at its place.
Glazing will be installed between the concrete bars of the north-east corner. A building will be built behind the workshop space on the Upper Ground. The tall new structure is designed to be transparent, allowing the public to view the interiors. The new addition will be clad in aluminum fins, which was the secondary material used by Lasdun.
The aesthetic appeal of the exterior is enhanced by grassed terraces. The main entrance, shifted 90 degrees to the current home of the bookshop, will allow people to enter directly from the riverside. The Cottesloe Theatre, a small and adaptable studio space, will also get a major facelift along with the foyers. The redesign by Haworth Tompkins follows contemporary approach to design without sacrificing the original spirit of the building. The plans will be submitted in June 2010.
The regeneration of the grade II listed building of the National Theatre has been planned as a part of the theater’s plans to make it a state-of-the-art facility on its fiftieth birthday.
