A new leisure, sports, and entertainment center is growing in East London around the former 2012 Olympic Village. Complementing venues built for the Olympics, including the London Aquatics Center and London Stadium [now home to West Ham United F.C.,] are cultural destinations including the V&A East Storehouse, a new campus for the University of the Arts/London College of Fashion, and many new restaurants and bars.
The East Bank arts area is next to the Waterworks River, an artificial channel that cuts through the new complex, and the latest waterfront addition is the recently opened Sadler’s Wells East.
Sadler’s Wells as an entertainment venue in London dates back to the 1680s when it was a pleasure garden. Since then, it has been home to dance and opera companies that evolved into the Royal Ballet, and English National Opera, and more recently, hosted some of the world’s greatest dance companies on tour including Ballet Rambert, Alvin Ailey, and the Dance Theatre of Harlem.
Since 1998, Sadler’s Wells has been based in a 1,500-seat theatre on Rosebery Avenue in Islington, London. The company had been looking for a new space to accommodate performances for smaller audiences, had an auditorium with a steeper rake so audiences could get a better look at dancers’ feet, was purpose-built for contemporary dance, and provide a base for a hip hop academy and the annual Breakin’ Convention festival.
The new venue, much like the T.A.R.D.I.S. from that other great British institution, Dr Who, appears modest from the outside but inside, feels airy and expansive. The ground floor opens to a large, L-shaped lobby with floor-to-ceiling windows and two separate snack and drink areas. In addition to the café seating is a flexible space awash in natural light which is used for yoga, dance and other classes for nearby office workers at lunchtime, but can also host mini concerts, lectures, or award ceremonies on a built-in stage which can be raised or lowered easily by just two people.
RELATED: Sadler's Wells East: Design Teams And Documents
The project architects were O'Donnell + Tuomey, who were also responsible for the nearby V&A East Museum, and theatre consulting and acoustics were handled by Charcoalblue.
Founded in 2004, Charcoalblue was named by co-founder Andy Hayles after a Wayne Shorter track. Live Design toured the new theatre with Alex Wardle, who led the project for the theatre consultants.
Live Design: What were the key requirements in this new venue?
Alex Wardle: A critical need was for additional rehearsal space as the Rosebery Avenue location was already busy—when you sign in for a visit you see some of the biggest names in dance, including Matthew Bourne, who have signed in before you.
The space is designed for work that is, perhaps, a little more niche. That has an audience but doesn’t sell as many tickets as something that might go to Rosebery Avenue. It is also for work that has a different relationship with the audience—more intimate, the rake of for the audience seating gives everyone a good view of the dancers and their feet, and it is flexible enough to adapt to many different configurations. The vast majority of the seating is actually retractable, leaving a vast space for work to happen.
LD: What did you find inspiration?
AW: We visited theatres around Europe including Amsterdam, and took bits from a lot of other buildings in the Netherlands etc. We talked to a lot of dancers about what they want in a rehearsal studio, particularly Rosas in Belgium. A dancer told us it is useful to have different textures on the walls in rehearsal rooms, and so we have a sequence in the studios which starts with brick on the back wall, then wood as you progress toward the windows. The different textures give visual cues to help dancers locate themselves in the space.
Dancers also want natural light and to see out of windows, but they don’t want to feel overlooked, fortunately the studios are above pedestrian level.
Sadler’s Wells East is also home to Breakin’ Convention Festival an international festival of hip hop dance, and a hip hop dance academy and their only request was for extra loudspeaker outlets, so the two lower rehearsal rooms are future-proofed for that.
LD: This venue is very much reliant on government subsidies. Is the rehearsal space available for rent?
AW: To do the kind of work they want to do at Sadler’s Wells some form of subsidy will always be necessary, but the rehearsal space is available not just to other dance companies but for rent for corporate events. Studio One has a great view and easy access for corporate hires, and in addition many of the other spaces incorporate balconies and outside areas which are attractive for events.
LD: How sustainable is this project?
AW: Buro Happold, the building engineers, prioritized sustainability.
RELATED: Sadler's Wells East: Buro Happold Statement On Sustainability
Fundamentally, it is a well-sealed building, despite having doors that open completely to the outside. When they are closed, windows in the foyer open up completely at the top for ventilation while still being secure. There are concrete thermal masks on the walls that take a long time for to heat up and cool down so it regulates the internal temperature.
The materials were chosen to reduce the amount of energy needed now and for future projected temperatures. The building is designed to be adapted as the climate warms up.
The brown roof has plantings designed to retain water and prevent sudden run off into the sewers and flooding. There is solar shading on the south facing windows.
Outside the building hosts a patio for food and drink and there are wind breaks as it is a waterfront and does get windy. The steel screens are decorated with cutouts of Laban Notation, the written language of dance, which is beautiful and appropriate, and the screens mean the outdoor area can be used more often.
Inside the building, care was taken to build features that create access and rigging points and future proof technology needs.
Things we have built into the auditorium include slatted wall slats, partly for acoustical reasons to break up sound waves but also so that additional bolts can be fitted in between the slats for extra lighting points. There are three mini balconies designed to give access to rigging positions on the walls, so you don’t need a ladder or A-frame. You can’t reach every position, but enough to ease the maintenance.
We also used cork for a staircase to the auditorium rather than timber, like other stairs in the building. It is sustainable and hardwearing and while it isn’t particularly noise deadening it is better for foot fall than timber. It is also nicer on bare feet, we put it in the dressing rooms in the new Soho Place theatre.
LD: How about accessibility?
AW: British theatres tend to have more accessible features than our colleagues in the US can create, which makes sense if there are subsidies as everyone pays tax and should be able to use it. For wheelchairs, we have flexible spacing on two levels because we have retractable seating, we did try to get wheelchair space in the upper balcony section but couldn’t quite manage it. But two levels is a lot.
We do design for accessible backstage areas but there will always be rigging points and so on that are not. But making space for theatre professionals in wheelchairs is not just appropriate, it is a win-win, as it means there is access for large equipment as well.
LD: Did the existing Sadler’s Wells theatre in Islington have an impact on the design?
AW: We deliberately made the proportions similar between the two venues, the stage is the same size as Rosebery Avenue, and the fly tower is the same height so you can transfer shows very easily. Rosebery Avenue does have a corner of the backstage area cut off whereas we have more room there, but the other theatre has a sub floor for storage which we don’t have because of the area. The ground here is contaminated with industrial waste so digging it out would have added hundreds of thousands, if not millions, to the cost of the excavation. But the building is very well sealed so it is safe.
LD: Was space the main challenge? Because inside the building feelings very large and light.
AW: The budget for Sadlers Wells East was not huge but the main challenge was fitting everything into the site, it is quite tight and there is not much wing space. Ideally, you would have more storage space. But the natural light and high ceilings make it feel airy even with a sellout audience of 550.
LD: This area of London is becoming a huge attraction, which is wonderful because sometimes former Olympic sites do not do well.
AW: Yes, and it continues to expand. The BBC Symphony Orchestra is coming next door, after moving down from Maida Vale, so we have a fiber optic link between the two buildings for live broadcasts.
It is great Olympic legacy.