CURTAIN CALL* - PROPOSAL FOR NEW REGIONAL THEATER IN KALMAR Sara Hammar, Master thesis at Chalmers MPARC, 2011-05-23, examiner Claes Caldenby *Curtain Call: the appearance of performers at the end of a theatrical performance to acknowledge applause Table of contents Abstract 5 Background Byteatern 8 Kalmar 10 Urban development 12 Cultural heritage 13 Location Inventory 16 Considered locations 18 Chosen location 19 Location description 20 History 22 Floor plans 1983 23 Construction 24 Accessibility 25 Pre-studies Strategies for low-budget building 28 Old meets new 30 Program 32 Design strategies 34 The proposal Front of stage 1 38 Site Plan 39 Front of stage 2 40 Ground fl oor 41 Front of stage 3 42 2nd fl oor 43 Stages and back of stage 44 3rd fl oor 45 Cross sections 46 Facades 48 Exterior perspective 50 Models 52 Image sources 54 Thanks to 55 4 5 Abstract Byteatern, the regional theater of Kalmar County, have been accommodated in an old margarine factory for the last thirty years. Albeit charming and with a magnifi cent view over- looking the Kalmar Straight, the staff have long since grown tired of carrying large pieces of décor up narrow fl ights of stairs and many other logistic predicaments. The idea of a new building has been put forward many times without any results and just recently it has been brought back in discussion through new urban development plans and local media. My thesis started as a quest to fi nd out what this new theater could be like and where it was suit- able to locate it. The choice fell on an existing building, today a fi re station, positioned at a crucial point in the development plan for central Kalmar. The fi re station is in need of more space as well and will relocate within ten years. This decision broadened the theme of the thesis to fi nding a compromise between the ideal program and the physical limitations of the building and still retain quality in the architecture and in the dialogue with the city. Because the site is of such importance in the ambition to connect and create certain trails in the city the public program was expanded to include a gallery space, exhibition space for theater décor, puppets and masks plus a restaurant that can operate independently of the theatre. Byteaterns style of performance requires fl exible theatre space, a black box, with the possibility to rearrange seating between productions. This creates a different sequence of experiences for the audience than usual. The project plays with these conceptions by twisting and displacing qualitative, characteristic elements of the classical proscenium theater building and making them function in a black box setting. This is also where the title Curtain Call comes from. The hoisting and hauling of the curtain may be gone from the stage but for the spectator there are still moments that defi ne the sequence of a theatre visit, like seeing the lit up building when approaching it and passing through the front door. BACKGROUND 8 Byteatern The current theatre The theatre and its surroundings 9 Odens öga 1991 Byteaterns original stage, S/M HeleneMunväder 1994 Livetochdödenochalltihop 1993 Peer Gynt 1989 Fotos from various performances: Lilla babyns hemliga liv 2009 History The regional theater of Kalmar, “Byteatern”, started as a touring theater, travelling Sweden on the small ship S/M Helene. The founding members were artists living in Stockholm and their goal was to bring non-commercial children’s culture to smaller towns and villages. The fi rst voyage took place in 1971 and the ship acted as stage, cinema and book café all at the same time. The name Byteatern (“the village theatre”) was an obvious reaction against the well- established city theatres. In 1982 they acquired a permanent location on dry land, an old margarine factory in the harbor of Kalmar. The talk of moving to better suited facilities has been going on almost since the day they moved in but in the last years there has been an increase in the effort to fi nd a new place. Ten years after moving in to their house in the harbor Byteatern was offi cially appointed Regional Theatre of Kalmar Län. (Äventyret Byteatern, ed. Tomas Alldahl, 1996) Byteaterns trade mark is to produce a unique type of theatre based on mixing artistic disciplines. Puppets and masks are usually incorporated in plays for both the adult and the young audience. Live music and dance are also common elements. Vision “We shall create unique performing arts and human encounters that increase people’s feeling for life. Meaning… ... that with a personal theater, we will give the audience lust for life and the courage to change. We will develop Byteaterns long tradition of high quality, artistically border-crossing performing arts. The activities will refl ect our time, our audience and our region, thus making the theater into an important meeting place. We will highlight trends in society and create debate. For the audience’s sake... ... we create a unique performing arts. Here, people will meet, play, recognize, get affected, and become amazed by a concerning, mirroring and echoing experience of all senses. Transparency, humanism and solidarity are important values in the way Byteatern meets the audience.” (http://byteatern.se/om-byteatern/vision, 2011-07-26) 10 1 km main roads rail way 11 Medieval origins, Kalmar Castle 17th century cathedral Contemporary, the new art museum Kalmar Today Kalmar is a mid-size town of 35000 inhabitants. It was probably founded as far back as in the late 12th century which makes it over 800 years old. The city is a railway terminus situated in the south-eastern corner of Sweden. Getting to the major cities by train takes at least three hours. There is also a domestic and charter airport and a bridge to Öland, which is a popular tourist destination in the summer. The economy is based on tourism, education and commerce as most of the larger industries like Volvo and ABB have shut down their plants here. The well-preserved historic city centre and the location by the Baltic Sea are the main attractions. Historically it was an important city on the border, which becomes evident when you see the castle and the fortifi cations around the old city. It was an important meeting place in medieval politics, peaking with the crowning of Erik av Pommern as regent and confi rmation of the new union between Sweden, Denmark and Norway in 1397. The medieval remains are few apart from the castle as the city was moved to its present location on the island Kvarnholmen after a devastating war with the Danish and a city fi re in the early 17th century. The peace of Roskilde in 1658 meant that Kalmar was no longer a border city and grew less important politically. From the mid 19th century until now Kalmar has gone from being the seventh to the 29th most populated city in Sweden. (Nationalencyklopedin www.ne.se, 2011-06-27) In 2010 the college was merged with the University of Växjö to form the new Linné University with around 15.000 full-time students in the two cities. (Nationalencyklopedin www.ne.se, 2011-06-27) As a part of the merger the university´s facilities has been evaluated and the goal is to move in to new buildings in three years. Today they have 13 different premises but in the future scenario all activities will be located on two sites, one by the former soccer stadium and one by the train station. The university library will be a part of a new culture cluster by the public library. (Barometern-OT, 2011-03-31) Other current developments of the city are the new art museum, the new arena for the local soccer team (national league winners 2008) and a planned publically accessible offi ce building for the local newspaper. Ölandsbron 12 The city planning offi ce of Kalmar has recently put together a vision- ary program with guide lines for future development of the city centre Kvarnholmen (FÖP – fördjupad översiktsplan). The overall vision of the document is “refi ne the unique Kvarnholmen”. The goal is to strengthen Kalmar as an attractive place to live, study, work and visit. The way to achieve this refi nement is through these so called beacons: “Cultivate a dynamic interplay between life oasis and destination”, “Vitalize the cultural values in the tension between tradition and experi- ment”, “Strenghten the experience of interaction between city and landscape”. Each of these beacons will be fulfi lled through a number of strate- gies like “generate city life”, “mix activities, size, age, etc”, “connect”, “clarify the 17th century plan by contrasting”, “establish connected green structures”, “improve water quality”. The document points out specifi c sites where these strategies should be applied and what that could mean. The guidelines also comprise visions on sustainable development and a thorough review of the geographical, infrastuctural, social, cultural, historic situation and development potential. Two major development goals are especially relevant for this project. Left: The city centre should grow towards north-west and connect to the Malmen district. Right: A trail of recreational green areas and culture should be clarifi ed and developed running from the castle in the south via the art museum, the library and the old soccer stadium and make the waterfront more accessible. Urban development 1 km 1 3 Visionary collage of the library area. Two major development goals of the “FÖP” 13 The entire centre of Kalmar is covered by the so called “National Interest of Cultural Heritage” (Riksintresset). The purpose of the document is to protect the national interests of cultural heritage when descitions are made regarding fysisk planering. The authority to judge whether or not a development could harm the cultural heritage is Läns- styrelsen (the regional government). The north half is the one of interest for this master thesis and is covered in a report from 2008 written by Barup & Edström Arkitekt- kontor. In the report the area is broken down in to ten parts, divided by their character. Inventory has been made for each of them which form the basis of further analysis. It then goes on to specify general and specifi c qualities of the city that should be preserved. The site for this master thesis is within subarea 2. The area is titled “commerce city” as it is mostly occupied by shops and offi ces. Its block structure is orthogonal, buildings predominantly 2-3 stories high. The establishment of shopping malls in the second half of the 20th Century destroyed most old small-scale courtyard environments and replaced them with larger sites. Some of the newer developments have been designed to follow the old built structure in height and vertical distribution of facade elements. The new additions create great contrast where they meet the older houses. The report recommends that any new buildings in this area should focus on creating qualitative architectural, contextual values but does not specify any further guide lines. Cultural heritage Subarea 2, including the site for this master thesis The national heritage and its boundaries LOCATION 16 Kalmar teater Vallgraven Sveaplan Skeppsbrogatan Bangården Tullhamnen Fredriksskans Brandstationen Södra kanalgatan 17 Public transport Central Location Interesting neighbours Security Parking Other Sveaplan - odd in between spaces - blocking the imagined con- nection between the library and Fredriksskans Fire Station + good location - uncertain whether the existing building is suitable Fredriksskans + design freedom - a bit aside Södra Kanalgatan + a lot of space - feels like a backside of the city centre Skeppsbrogatan + connection city centre - baronen + accessability - problematic meeting with the old city wall Tullslätten + possible outdoor stage Kalmar Teater + good location + synergy effects with the theatre - accessibility - load in - build over park area Bangården + view + balance up tourist activities Tullhamnen + view - hidden location The search for a suitable location started out by fi nding out what the prefer- ence of the theatre was. These wishes pretty much correspond to the current situation where the harbor activities cause problems: - in the city centre - close to public transport - interesting neighbors - security (not too much traffi c, where it feels safe to walk to at night) - parking possibilities nearby The next step was to, without restrictions, list all sites previously mentioned in the debate and also any other possible open space in the central parts of Kalmar. A quick evaluation was made based on Byteaterns criteria and with input from the city development plan (FÖP) and the “National interest for cultural heritage” guide lines. The fi ve most interesting sites were chosen to be further investigated. Inventory - ++ + + + + + + ++ - - ++ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + ++ + + - + + + - + ++ +- - DESIREABLE QUALITIES PO SS IB LE S IT ES 18 ~2500 sqm This site is visually dominated by the prison situated on top of the ravelin “Prins Carl”. Building here would be a challenge because of the cultural heritage aspects. The roundabout is an important traffi c node connecting major thoroughfare streets and the train station is close making this a site with excellent public transport. According to urban planning policy and visionary documents this area will become a cluster for cultural activities and thus suitable for a theatre. On the downside this is a popular park with many visitors and one of Kalmars rare sleigh slopes. This site is occupied by warehouse type buildings and parking areas. It is only accessible from Ölands- kajen because of the railway structures surrounding it, the depot of the central station to the north-east and industrial tracks to the west. There are some magnifi cent views over the castle and Kalmarsund, but also over the industrial area Tjärhovet. Even though it is close to the station it is clearly a bit off from the city centre. In the summer how- ever it is livelier due to activity in the guest harbour and its kiosks along the dock. A theatre might help make the area livelier during the winter. Sound pollution from the heavy traffi c along Järnvägsgatan is a clear minus. Considered locations Skeppsbrogatan The site is like a desert of parking lots, separating the pedestrian streets of the inner city from a large shopping mall. The space is large but well framed by the mall and an intact stretch of the 17th century defense wall. A building here could connect the two commercial areas better, would activate the area in the evening and expose the theatre to a lot of people, possibly increasing the ticket sales. Keeping the characteristic contrast between dense city inside the wall and openness outside it could be diffi cult. The resulting gap between building and wall is unlikely to be a space of good quality. There is not enough room for the planned building; it would have to be shrunk. Ölandskajen Tullslätten 19 Chosen location The fi re department has no room left to grow in this location and plans are on-going to build a new station somewhere else. It is a 100-year old building with a characteristic tower and a large but modest expansion from the early eighties. No part is under cultural heritage protection. There is room for expansion on top of the large garage and also in front of it. The site lies in a corner of the inner city grid and thus has long sight lines towards east, north and west. The bridge over the channel is one of the most important links when the city center grows towards north-east (according to Kalmars policy documents, FÖP). The site also shares the geographical advantages of Sveaplan. Fire Station Sveaplan is the geographical centre of the city centre as the planning offi ce imagines it in the future. From here university, shopping, sports facilities, recreation, train station, library, museums etcetera can quickly be reached by foot. Plans are on-going to convert the former postal offi ce into a food market. The over-sized traffi c solution, the channel and the high school grounds contribute to the openness of the space. Surrounding it are very different buildings in both scale and age. Placing a large public building here could be just what the place needs but also appear too clumsy and obstructing of the park and view. Sveaplan Considered locations landstinget bliv. gota media high school södra kanalgatan larm gatansy st ra st rö m m en fredriksskans- kanalen kaggensgatan sveaplan Location description The fi re station is located right on the edge of the inner city grid that was established in the 17th century, although outside of the former fortifi cations. Two sides of the building face the dense city and two faces a channel. These photos show the Fire Station as it looks when you approach it from different directions. 20 Within a distance of one kilometre from Sveaplan one reaches all of central Kalmar including train station, university, library, museums etc. city activity the fi re station important buildings (from left to right: library, water tower, theatre, train station, cathedral. Dashed: Gota media offi ce building to be) 21 The original part of the fi re station was built in 1904. The early 20th century was a period of intense building activity in Kalmar following a new development plan from 1906 made by P O Hallman. Over the next few decades the central city parts were fully built. The architect of the fi re station was Agi Lindegren, most famous for the Gustav Vasa church in Stockholm. Besides architecture he had a great interest in art and illustration. The building has been added to many times over the years. What can be seen today is a large extension from 1983 and a minor adjustment from the mid 1990s. The addition consists mainly of a large fi re truck depot on the ground fl oor and a row of fi remen’s accommodations and parking deck on the second level. History 22 1904 1983 1994 1936 1933 1900 History Floor plans 1983 23 ground fl oor 2nd fl oor 3rd fl oor 24 1904 The oldest part of the fi re station is built sturdily with masonry load bearing walls and wooden joists. A lot of work has gone in to building it. The facade is classically composed but has a certain charming oddity in the unbalance created by the positioning of the tower and exercise hall. It looks like it is expecting another wing to be added on the west side. Most part of the building is confi gured as series of rooms on either side of a central corridor. These spaces are rather unspectacular but have a solid everyday quality worth keeping with their generous ceiling height, original wooden fl oors, beautiful windows and dormers. The former fi re truck depot/stable is a more characteristic space with its series of large arched doors and bright red cast iron columns. Today it is hard to read the space as it has been split and divided by new walls. It would be better to restore its original spatiality or use more transparent divisions. The exercise hall is a great space with a 7 meter ceiling height and three high windows on each short side. It would be a good idea to enhance it and make it possible to move vertically in it as well to really let people up to see the view to the channel and beyond. 1983 Built out of prefabricated concrete elements of large dimensions painted with a fi re truck red colour, the current fi re truck depot is not a very refi ned space. But a parking garage like this could very well transform in to an interesting space when met with a contrasting program or material. Keeping it does not have greater value than providing functional design for the theater. For the purpose of creating a building with a visible archeology, though, it would be valuable to keep some parts of it. On top of the garage stands a row the fi remen’s accommodation rooms. Even though quite anonymous and boring, the small rooms and many bathrooms would make them suitable to transform into actors dressing rooms. 1994 This part of the building is designed to function as a bomb shelter in case of an emergency which makes the spaces very specifi c and hard to reprogram. Ceiling heights are low, windows are miniscule, and walls are solid concrete diffi cult to precisely create new openings in. As for character it brings nothing new to the entirety as it is built in the same manner as the 1983 extension. Finally, the fact that it is situated in the corner of the building that presumably would be characterized by openness makes it hard to argue for its preservation. Construction Which qualities lie in the present structure? Is there a certain nar- rative in the building that deserves to be carried on in to the fu- ture? These are important questions to answer before moving on to designing a proposal. 25 +10,55 +2,10 +2,10 +2,18 +2,30 +2,20 +3,10 +2,14 +3,10 +6,71 +7,07 +7,07 +6,95 +4,87 inaccessible ramp elevator stairs Accessibility ground fl oor 2nd fl oor 3rd fl oor PRE-STUDIES 28 Strategies for low-budget building Idea, design Architectural idea - A clear design concept is not necessarily cheap but it has greater potential for price-worthy building. Simplicity - Complexity raises the price. - There are elements that are unnecessary. If you can eliminate them you have the possibility to realize other things. - Organized structures, distinct room organization, compact construction and mostly the limitation to super ordinate architectural ideas form a way to creating good architecture at a reasonable price. - Putting similarly equipped rooms close together Compact Building - The quota between effective surface and gross building area. Optimized surface relations lead to reduced costs in all building parts. Standards and Norms - If you can get creative with them it is possible to partly put standards and norms out of play and make them work for a low budget rather than against it. Program Task identifi cation - Spreading the money uneven, spending more on the most important parts. - Cost pressure can lead to new architectural solutions and typologies. By limiting architecture to the necessary it can help it and make it stronger. Income - As soon as you’re moving on the edge of what is economically possible you have to look at both spending and income. Material, execution Prefabrication - If you want to rely on prefabrication you should use successful products or develop systematic solutions so simple they can be produced with standard building materials by medium-skilled craftsmen. Local - Local specialties, regional building tradition and site conditions should be utilized in the process to reduce costs. For a project like this economy is very important, the budget of the municipality is limited and a high price tag could easily overthrow the entire project. To find inspiration for this aspect, two special issues on low budget building were analyzed and a number of possible strategies identified. The subject of building at a low cost is very complex. It is not only about cheap, but about for whom and in which time-span it is cheap and making sure cheap does not mean unsustainable. Perhaps cheap in the long run is expensive now? Therefore this should not be viewed as a universal mapping of the subject. When the location was chosen to be an existing building the difficulty of fitting in the program was drastically raised and dealing with existing structures became the focus of the thesis. Sources: Werk, Bauen + Wohnen no. 12-2008 “Gut und günstig” p. 4-35 Detail no. 4-2009 “Kostengünstig bauen” p. 288-294, 326-331, 340-345, 354-356, 360-364 Chosen strategies For the possibility to make some kind of extra revenue, restaurant/bar facilities were designed to be a self-suffi cient business and not only a one time a day foyer-café. There is space for the theatre to have one or more tenants in three offi ces and a room with kitchenette right by the staff entrance. Public areas can be combined in many ways for the possibility to host a variety of income-bringing events with different facility needs. For a more effi cient and simple building process the facade is divided in to elements of one width throughout, which could enable some prefabrication. 29 Example: Theater 11 Theater 11 is the result of a competition to radically transform “Stadthof 11”, a multipurpose hall built in 1966. It had an unclear relation to the city around it and problematic fl ow of audience going in and out of the auditorium. The theater also needed 500 additional seats, more foyer space and modern stage technology. Hence such a dramatic change was carried out; according to one of the architects, Daniel Niggli, a case of “architectural cannibalism”. Almost nothing but the fl y tower and basement remains of the original building. After being stripped down a new taller hall was built and then everything but the tower was covered in a new sloping and folding metal mesh shell. The space between auditorium and shell became the new foyer. The budget was limited but no expenses were spared on the actual hall, technical equipment and functional rooms. After they had been accounted for barely a quarter of the 27 million francs (176 million sek) was left for the façade and foyer. Therefore the foyer is made up of raw, industrial materials such as concrete and corrugated sheet metal. This was also deliberate to give the building a character that connects well with its urban situation, an obsolete industrial area which has recently been part of an ambitious regeneration plan. Before starting the design process a thorough analysis of how to make the theatre profi table was made. One conclusion was that the last 50 seats were the most important as they don´t cost much but help bring in revenue that exceeds the production costs. Location: Zürich, Switzerland (380000 inhabitants) Architects: EM2N Project type: Musical theater, refurbishment Project year: 2005-2006 Sqm: 9188 Budget: 27 million francs (176 million sek) Sources: Bauwelt no. 23-2007 “Resteverwertung” p. 28-31 Werk, Bauen + Wohnen no. 12-2008 “Mehr für den Raum, weniger für die Oberfl äche” p. 4-11 30 Old meets new Positions on how to add: - No doubt about what is new and what is not, let the contrast enhance the character and authenticity of the existing. - Overlapping to create interesting points of collision between old and new. - Keeping some traces of the previous tenant as for example the bright red color. new old The words to describe a project based on an existing structure are many and varied. For this project two terms are more suitable than others: Addition, as the new building is larger than the old one, expanding in two directions and upwards. Conversion or Adaptive Reuse, as the content and program is radically changed. The opinions regarding how these changes should be carried out are just as varied as the vocabulary. One extreme being where the new parts are camoufl aged as old and the other where the new structures are developed totally independently of the existing. However one chooses to approach the task there are clear benefi ts of using an existing building as a base for a project like this. Sustainability is one of them, especially ecological, but the potential for social and economical sustainability is also high even though that varies more with each project and cannot be taken for granted. There is also much potential for interesting design, as there are so many specifi c prerequisites already given which raises the complexity of the result. 31 A B C A B C The orange color indicates demolished parts 32 black boxes back of stage ground fl oor requirement 2000 sqm storage Program total: 4300 sqm Total including communication areas: 5900 sqm Fire station today: 3600 sqm Increase: 2300 sqm The program has been developed based on two existing suggestions. The fi rst was written by the technical manager of Byteatern, Lasse Skarin, and gives a lot of information on the wishes of the theatre but has very roughly estimated surfaces. For example communication areas are not suffi ciently included. The second was made by architectural fi rm Dorte Mandrup as a part of an investigation of a culture centre in Kalmar. This has some useful references to built projects and standards but is perhaps too conformed to minimum levels. The gallery, extra restaurant space and rentable rooms have been put in as a result of economic, programmatic strategies and consideration for urban development issues. The result has also been infl uenced by the restraints of the existing building. The compromises has led to somewhat smaller stages and workshops, larger public spaces but generally the program differs only a little from the original intentions. added program gallery 50 sqm extra restaurant/ bar space 150 sqm tenant 80 sqm front of stage museum 150 sqm restaurant 200 sqm foyer 300 sqm cloak room, public wc 60 sqm big black box 450 sqm small black box 120 sqm side stage 100 sqm offi ces, offi ce storage, archive, copy room, library 290 sqm conference room 40 sqm staff lounge, artists foyer 130 sqm dance studio 160 sqm rehersal room 150 sqm rehersal room 60 sqm dressing rooms, hair and make up room 130 sqm assembly workshop 140 sqm wood workshop 100 sqm metal workshop 60 sqm paint workshop 90 sqm changing rooms 40 sqm set design, props, puppet, and mask workshop and studios 200 sqm sound, lighting workshops 50 sqm media lab, music room, record- ing studio 60 sqm textile workshop, laundry, fi tting room, dyeing, patina 130 sqm storage 660 sqm ventilation 100 sqm loading area 90 sqm Program 33 As Byteatern is a producing theatre they require a lot of space back stage to accommodate workshops, offi ces and staff areas. A specifi c request was to put all the décor workshops and stages on ground level to simplify logistics of large elements. This program runs to a total of 2000 sqm, which is only a little less than the ground fl oor of the fi re station today. With the specifi c size, height and logistic relations required for these functions it was unlikely that they would fi t without making an addition to the building. The surface that the expansion takes up fi nally landed on 650 sqm. addition needed Two cross sections diagrammatically showing the traditional proscenium theatre and a black box theatre. The traditional version has a sequence that is imposed on the actual building structure. The foyer for waiting and socializing, the house for the audience, the stage for the actors and a curtain that goes up and down marking the beginnings and ends of performances. In the black box however, these boundaries dissolve. Audience foyer foyer house stage black box and actors share the same space during the performance and the foyer (and sometimes even outdoor space) can act as an extension of the stage. This, of course, has consequences for the program. Most evidently shoving in the proposal is the possibility for total separation between restaurant and foyer. This way the restaurant can still have other guests than theatergoers in case there is a part of a performance going on in the foyer. black box theatre 2100 sqm + 650 sqm 34 Shape: Two factors infl uenced the shape of the expansion: the wish to keep the block of buildings together and the wish to leave the old facade visible from more or less the same angles as today. Program placement: The main entrance should be directed towards the node Sveaplan. The restaurant should have outdoor areas with evening sun. Design strategies 35 THE PROPOSAL 38 Green roofs improve the infi ltration of rain water and the view from neighboring houses. Outdoor areas The Yard in front of the fi re station is today empty except for some parking spaces. With a new public function in the building like a theatre this space obviously has to be put to better use. Ideal would be if the activity and creativity could spill out and activate and generate liveliness on the street as well. This is also a wish that is expressed in the FÖP (see p. 12) as a strategy to achieve the goal to “Cultivate a dynamic interplay between life oasis and destination”. The oldest part of the building has great potential to interact with the yard through its large pair doors. The functions inside were chosen with this in mind. Behind the doors an artistic hub of studios and workshops for set design, mask, puppet and props departments is located. The doors will allow the artists to move their work outside when the weather allows and outdoor workshops could be held with easy access to the tools and equipment inside. The space in front of the new addition is left un-programmed as an open space so that it can be used for setting up various happenings/performances. A folding glass wall can open up a connection to the foyer ground fl oor and the balcony stretching along the entire new facade provides an elevated view point for the audience. In front of the main entrance in the north-west corner there is a waiting area with some trees, benches and bicycle stands. Only a few parking spaces are available on the front yard, mainly for staff. Visitors’ parking spaces are already available at a small distance. 30 39 Site plan 1:800 Södra Kanalgatan Kaggensgatan Larmgatan Trädgårdsgatan Fredriksskanskanalen Sy str as trö mm en Malmbron Strömgatan m ai n en tra nc e staff entrance gallery entrance café entra nce 40 Foyer Kalmar Teater Even though traditional proscenium stages are unfl exible and often have seats with bad views, the spatial quality is often high. That is why the typology of overlapping balconies is brought in to the design of the foyer. Over and under the balconies there are more or less closed boxes containing rest rooms, cloak room and reception on the entrance level. On the third level they act as screens for exhibitions of Byteaterns unique collection of puppets and masks. During intermission the audience can view the exhibits or have a snack in the bars on the second level balcony. The material on both boxes and balcony fl oors is robust wooden boards. This way it can be handled differently, less careful, and be more useful for the theatre. As a contrast to this the underside of the balconies are clad with a carpet of tiny glimmering LED lights. It emphasizes the balconies as objects fl oating in the large space. A smaller stage or podium could be assembled between the entrance doors to the stages to be used on its own or as a part of the whole experience of a larger production on the main stages. The balconies have bars attached along the edges for mounting lighting and other equipment. For further fl exibility of use the third level has access to the rehearsal rooms which opens up possibilities for conference and work shop type events or open house days when the public can be invited in to the re- hearsals. 1 Principal construction of balcony wooden boards loadbearing construction ceiling with incorporated LED lights bar (for mounting equipment) railing boxes inset from edge 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 7 9 10 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 14 21 22 23 24 2525 25 27 28 26 29 31 32 29 11 0 10 20 m 30 42 1. entrance 2. reception/ticket offi ce 3. cloak room 4. foyer 5. rest rooms 6. restaurant 7. kitchen 8. kitchen staff dressing room 9. sound lock 10. small black box (h. 4,5m) 11. big black box (h. 12 m) 12. side stage 13. stage kitchen 14. storage 15. assembly workshop 16. paint workshop 17. wood workshop 18. metal workshop 19. puppet, props, mask workshop 20. puppet, props, mask studios 21. dressing rooms 22. cleaning closet 23. goods reception 24. tenant kitchenette 25. tenant offi ces 26. staff entrance 27. waste/recycling 28. gallery 29. bikes 30. outdoor happening area 31. outdoor workshop area 32. parking p. 44 p. 42 Restaurant/terrace Gallery/tenant torn down structures existing structures new walls The restaurant is confi gured to have the capability to operate independently of the theatre. It is located on Larmgatan as close to the shopping streets as possible. On the ground fl oor it has two parts. The fi rst one, right by the kitchen, has a café counter and a more casual ambience, the second one is intended to be an extension when there are many guests, an area for fi ne dining, or as an area that serves the adjoining foyer. On the second level is a bar that can be accessed both from the foyer and the restaurant below. It opens up to the south to the large roof terrace facing the channel Systraströmmen. Besides being an outdoor serving area for the restaurant it can also be used for small performances and outdoor movies can be projected on to the fi re wall. Towards Kaggensgatan a small gallery space is located. It is intended to host shifting exhibitions by either the tenants renting space in the ground fl oor of the old building, Byteatern themselves, perhaps creative staff members of Byteatern for their personal art projects, or something else entirely. 4 28 Ground fl oor 1:300 41 p. 38 2 3 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 7 8 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 0 10 20 m 4 1 9 44 1. foyer level 2 2. bar 3. restaurant level 2 4. terrace 5. storage 6. artists dressing rooms 7. sauna 8. hair/make up 9. staff lounge 10. big black box upper part 11. side stage upper part 12. lighting workshop 13. sound workshop 14. textile workshop 15. laundry room 16. dressing room 17. dyeing/patina 18. music room 19. recording studio 20. media lab p. 40 p. 42 p. 44 Black boxes Byteaterns wish is to keep playing in a black box type of stage. The possibility to reconfi gure audience seating and stage layout between productions is important to their artistic expression. The ideal, most fl exible black box is actually a box in a box, allowing audience, actors, crew and decor to enter and exit through all four walls, roof and fl oor of the box. In this project the existing structure created a lot of restriction to what would be possible and therefore only two sides of the box and the roof are open for movement. An inner shell could be built up as a part of the set design when needed, but of course this would decrease either stage space or number of audience. 231 seats 256 seats 318 seats Staff lounge A theatre performance is truly a synthesis of art, where images, sound, movement and storytelling come together. One of the most defi ning characteristics of Byteatern is the artistically inter- disciplinary way of working, so some kind of epicenter where the different departments can come together casually would be extra valuable. Thus, a staff lounge is located in the middle of the building to become a natural meeting point for everyone. To make it inviting one of the most interesting spaces of the old building, the exercise hall, is used. A loft is put in to one side of the hall to make room for reading space and a conference room on top, kitchen, lunch area and lockers underneath. A podium is built by the windows to make the great view more accessible. torn down structures existing structures new walls Void in the sound lock between the new black box wall and a former outer wall with the beams of the garage structure passing through it. 11 9 2nd fl oor 1:300 43 1 2 2 3 4 4 4 5 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 0 10 20 m 46 Cross Sections 1:300 B B C C A A N 1. foyer level 3 2. exhibition space 3. balcony 4. storage 5. rehearsal rooms 6. dance studio 7. access to technical ceiling 8. technical ceiling above big black box 9. ventilation/utilities 10. library 11. staff lounge upper part 12. conference room 13. offi ce fl oor 14. archive torn down structures existing structures new walls A-A C-C 3rd fl oor 1:300 45 47 B-B 48 Facades The facades of the addition are covered in two types of sinus-corrugated corten steel, one solid and one perforated. This creates the effect that parts of the wall changes from transparent to opaque depending on the light conditions. The sinus profi le was chosen to paraphrase the proscenium curtains of a classic theatre, and also because it will look alive in the grazing light on the north facade. Additionally, one wall by the roof terrace has climbing greens. The window placement is informed by the vertical order of the old facade but much more playful and modern by using different sizes and sill heights. Two pictures illustrating the day to night transformation of a facade with perforated corrugated metal in front of glass. (Blue Moon Hotel, Groeningen, Foreign Offi ce Architects) 49 West facade 1:300 North facade 1:300 50 Exterior perspectiveExterior perspective View when approaching the main public entrance from Malmbron 51 52 Models 53 54 Image sources If not mentioned below, copyright of the author Page 9: Lilla babyns hemliga liv, photo Bertil Hertzberg. (http://byteatern.se/press/pressbilder, 20110729) Munväder, photo Bertil Hertzberg. S/M Helene, photo Sveriges Television. Odens öga, photo Bertil Hertzberg. Livetochdödenochalltihop, photo Bertil Hertzberg. Peer Gynt, photo Bertil Hertzberg. (Äventyret Byteatern, ed. Tomas Alldahl, 1996) Page 11 Ölandsbron (http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ölandsbron, 20110729) Kalmar castle (http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fil:Kalmar_slott_2005.jpg, 20110729) Kalmar cathedral (http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalmar_domkyrka, 20110729) Kalmar art museum, photo Åke E:son Lindman (http://www.sfv.se/cms/sfv/aktuellt/press/press_2008/nominerade_ till_helgopriset_2008.html, 20110729) Page 12 All 3 images, Kalmar Kommun (Utställningshandling 2011-03-29, Fördjupad översiktsplan för Kvarn- holmen med omgivande vattenrum) Page 13 Both images, Barup & Edström arkitektkontor AB. (Kalmar riksintresse, etapp 1: norra delen, 2008) Page 22 3 historic images, Kalmar Läns Museum (http://klmfoto.kalmarlansmuseum.se/, 20110729) Page 29 Theater 11, photo Hannes Henz (http://www.archdaily.com/53292/theater-11-em2n/, 20110729) Page 40 Kalmar teater (http://edu.ikd.hik.se/ezpublish/index.php/hik/tidning_06_09/tema_ tidsmaskinen/alla_teatrar_ska_ha_minst_ett_spoeke, 20110729) Page 48 Blue moon hotel (Architectural details 2003: annual selected edition from Detail Review of Architecture, p. 71f Author: Christian Schittich) 55 Thanks to... ...everyone who shared their opinions and knowledge to help with the thesis: Emil Andréasson and his colleagues at Samhällsbyggnadskontoret Kalmar, Lasse Skarin and all the co-workers at Byteatern and many others. ...patiently listening parents and friends.