ROYAL OPERA HOUSE
Above and bottom right:
The Royal Opera House’s
newly spacious foyer
Center and right: The
staircase down to the Linbury
Theatre is now a place for
informal performances and
casual drinks
Below and top right: The
new hand rails exemplify
the focus on creating a userfriendly
yet elegant design
MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE
The theater balcony fronts demonstrate how considered
a simple-looking design can be. The ‘hockey stick’ design
is cantilevered for strength.
“It’s got to be DDA compliant, as well as in line with what
the architect wanted to achieve,” says Sarah Younger.
The initial idea was to use veneer, but in the end solid wood
“boat-building technology” was used, on the advice of supplier
Birmingham Veneers.
20 AUDITORIA 2019 VOLUME ONE
only ever have 2,500 people to a show in the
main auditorium and 400 people to a show
in the Linbury Theatre. It was about getting a
sustainable new audience. There are 48 million
visitors a year in nearby Covent Garden; how
do you get the ballet-mad little girl out shopping
with her dad to come and engage?”
The second objective was to improve facilities
such as cloakrooms, restrooms and bars; the
third was to upgrade the Linbury Theatre, which
was designed in the mid 1990s as a rehearsal
space; and the fourth was to increase profitability.
“All arts organizations need to increase their
revenue,” says Younger. “The good thing is that
you can do this by making things better for the
audience. For example, the café is a lovely facility
for people to visit during the day, but it’s also
making some money.”
Minimal disruption
One of the biggest challenges was keeping the
building operational as the existing space was
refurbished – the only extension is the new
entrance area. “The oddest thing about this
B ack in 2012, the Royal Opera
House’s then chief executive Tony
Hall set in motion a project that
would see the historic building
opened up for new audiences. The
design team appointed to the Open Up project
included architect Stanton Williams and theater
consultant Charcoalblue. When Alex Beard took
over as chief executive in late 2013, he brought
in Sarah Younger as project director. The two had
worked together extensively on capital building
projects at the Tate Modern art gallery.
Younger says the project had four drivers,
the first being to create a daytime experience.
“The opera house was technically open during
the day, but there was no sense that you
could walk about; there were a lot of spaces
you couldn’t go into,” she explains. “You can
Photos: Hufton + Crow