ArchShowcase 
Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination. Kuopio City Theatre in Finland by ALA Architects LtdJanuary 7th, 2016 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: ALA Architects Ltd ALA Architects has now completed the renovation and expansion of the modernist Kuopio City Theatre designed in the 1960s by architects Helmer Stenros and Risto-VeikkoLuukkonen.  Image Courtesy © Tuomas Uusheimo
 Image Courtesy © Tuomas Uusheimo The design of the original building is based on a monumental rectangular volume lifted four meters above the ground. In the renovation the air conditioning, electrical installations and stage mechanics were completely updated and the stage tower elevated. The old windows, doors and facades were renewed. The public areas were renovated to respectfully reflect their original design with new fixed furniture also following the original design philosophy.  Image Courtesy © Tuomas Uusheimo  Image Courtesy © Tuomas Uusheimo The expansion is a simple white rectangular volume located perpendicularly to the original volume. It is a solid, contemporary addition which continues and complements the old structure with equal quality and permanence. The expansion houses a flat-floored new studio stage with flexible seating and stage mechanics. New spaces have also been provided for the ventilation plant room, dressing rooms, as well as costume manufacturing and storage. The theater sets that were originally produced in-house are nowadays made off-site and the number of visiting productions has also increased remarkably. To cater for today’s logistics needs, loading has been reorganized and a new lift placed between the two stages.  Image Courtesy © Tuomas Uusheimo  Image Courtesy © Tuomas Uusheimo To connect the old and new volumes, the existing public foyer has been extended with a bridge-like structure. The foyer extension forms a canopy over a new outdoor auditorium built between the volumes. The new stage connects to the main stage in a similar straightforward manner that the main stage connects to the stage tower. This solution helps with the optimization of stage logistics and enables combined functionality of the two stages.  Image Courtesy © Tuomas Uusheimo  Image Courtesy © Tuomas Uusheimo The original main entrance serves both the old building and the expansion. Both stages and foyers are located one floor above ground. They are accessed via a dramatic pyramid stair leading up from the ground floor wardrobe to the old foyer and the unobstructed views opening towards the Valkeisenlampi pond through its full height windows. When approaching the theater from the direction of the city center, the only visible alteration is the 4-meter add-on to the original stage tower mandated by theater technical updates. It forms a glowing glass lantern that leaves the distinctive shape of the old tower recognizable while inviting public to the theater.  Image Courtesy © Tuomas Uusheimo  Image Courtesy © Tuomas Uusheimo The old building has a beautiful and timeless material palette consisting of white concrete panels, glass and terracotta tiles. To complement this, the expansion is clad in white fiber concrete panels with a wrinkled, varying surface form, and copper is used for window sashes and the walls of the ventilation plant room. The lion yellow carpet in the foyer also follows the original color scheme.  Image Courtesy © Tuomas Uusheimo  Image Courtesy © Tuomas Uusheimo  Image Courtesy © ALA ARCHITECTS  Image Courtesy © ALA ARCHITECTS  Image Courtesy © ALA ARCHITECTS  Image Courtesy © ALA ARCHITECTS  Image Courtesy © ALA ARCHITECTS  Image Courtesy © ALA ARCHITECTS  Image Courtesy © ALA ARCHITECTS  Image Courtesy © ALA ARCHITECTS  Image Courtesy © ALA ARCHITECTS  Image Courtesy © ALA ARCHITECTS ALA ARCHITECTS ALA designs complex public buildings, renovations and modifications of modernist landmarks, and infrastructure systems. The Helsinki–based firm is led by architects Juho Grönholm, Antti Nousjoki, JanneTeräsvirta and Samuli Woolston. ALA has earned more than 20 prizes in design competitions worldwide, including the 1st prize in the international competition for the Helsinki Central Library in 2013. Projects by ALA have been widely published internationally and the office has received numerous awards. In 2012 the four partners were granted the prestigious Finnish State Prize for Architecture. The collaboration between the four ALA partners started in 2004 through success in open architectural competitions. The winning entry in the open international competition for a new theater and concert hall in Kristiansand, Norway, held in 2005, became their first major building commission. Kilden Performing Arts Centre opened to the public in January 2012. Today ALA is recognized as one of the most innovative and influential architecture offices in the Nordic countries with a portfolio of work that is sensual and experiential, while also functional and diagrammatic. The renovation and expansion of the Kuopio City Theatre is the office’s most recent completed project. ALA’s projects currently under construction include a regional city theater in Lappeenranta, Finland, two new subway stations along the western extension of the Helsinki Metro, the renovation of the Norwegian Embassy in Helsinki, and the expansion of the above mentioned Kilden Performing Arts Centre. The office is also working on the design of the new Helsinki Central Library, a new passenger ferry terminal for Helsinki’s West Harbour, the renovation of the Finnish Embassy in New Delhi, the renovation and repurposing of Aalto University’s Dipoli building in Espoo, and three more stations and an underground depot along the second leg of the extension of the Helsinki subway line.
Contact ALA Architects Ltd
Categories: Autocad, Rhinoceros, Theater |
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||
|
|||||
email
Facebook
Twitter
RSS Feed
