2011 » The Netherlands » Architecture Section
Curator: | Martien van Goor |
Authors of Theme: | Martien van Goor, Jim Klinkhamer |
Designer / Architect of exhibition: | Jonkman Klinkhamer Architecten - info@jonkmanklinkhamerarchitecten.nl |
Institution: | VPT / OISTAT THE NETHERLANDS |
Found Space on the Milky Way
The Amsterdam Municipal Theatre opened its doors in 1894 and has been the most important theatre in the Netherlands from that day. The largest and most important Dutch theatre company, Toneelgroep Amsterdam, uses the theatre as its home base. In the late 1980s, Toneelgroep Amsterdam made it clear that the traditional proscenium stage in the Municipal Theatre no longer fitted its artistic needs. Toneelgroep Amsterdam left the theatre and moved to an abandoned factory hall. However, the company eventually wanted a more versatile playhouse that was closer to Amsterdam’s theatre district. After a long search, it was decided to build a new auditorium behind the Municipal Theatre. Behind the Muncipal Theatre lies the Melkweg (“Miky Way”), an internationally renowned popular music venue. The Melkweg wanted a larger hall for concerts. A study was conducted to see whether it was possible to combine this hall with the construction of a flat-floor-theatre. The answer was yes. The Melkweg could be extended past the boundary of the Municipal Theatre’s grounds and it was possible to construct a theatre auditorium on top of the Melkweg. Thus the Municipal Theatre and the Melkweg were connected, creating a unique complex in the centre of Amsterdam, consisting of seven auditoria accommodating 5,000 visitors in total. The new auditorium was completed in 2009. It can be used in many different ways: as a traditional theatre with fixed seating; as a concert hall with standing room for 1,500 people or seating for 850 people and as a blackbox theatre allowing experimenting with different kinds of audience and scenery arrangements. The auditorium combines the atmosphere of a “found theatre space” with the state of the art technology of a modern flexible theatre / concert hall.
DHV - structural consultant Renz van Luxemburg - acoustics consultant Louis Jansen, theateradvies - theatre consultant