ROSE THEATRE

by Mitra Karimaghaei

The Rose theatre is situated a stones throw from the river Thames in Kingston Upon Thames. Its a three-storey modern building which was opened in 2008. The auditorium is indoors with a capacity of 900 seats which continues through three floors. The theatre is inspired by the Rose theatre which was built in 1587 in Southwark featuring the works of William Shakespeare. Kingston Rose theatres biggest issue is the lack of open space and with the auditorium being indoors and therefore missing the originally envisaged open atmosphere.
My proposal is trying to preserve and bring back to life the history of the original Rose theatre while incorporating a modern and sustainable approach in my design. Furthermore, my design proposal will try to solve this issue by opening up the indoor auditorium roof and bringing in natural light with beautiful natural green surroundings supplied by natural water sourced from rainwater creating a unique theatrical atmosphere.
The design proposal of two performance auditoriums on top of one another surrounded by a ring of greenery on the ground floor with bridges connecting the landing in between to the host building. Both auditoriums are structured with perforated stainless steel which traverses through the proposal starting from the ground floor and finishing just above the roof level which collects and supplies rain water to the greenery and surrounding glass creating a theatrical atomosphere. Auditorium 2 is situated on the landing above Auditorium 1 and continues above the rooftop level which creates a rooftop plaza encompassing a rooftop garden for people to socialise and enjoy the view of the River Thames.