Haworth Tompkins: The Shed

Composed of recycled materials and featuring bold geometrical lines, the British architecture studio creates a temporary auditorium for the National Theatre in London's South Bank.

British architecture studio Haworth Tompkins has recently completed The Shed, a temporary venue for the British National Theatre on London's South Bank. The temporary venue, created while the National Theatre's Cottesloe is closed for a one year redevelopment, provides the institution with a third auditorium that seeks to explore new ways of making theatre.

Top and above: Haworth Tompkins, The Shed, temporary auditorium for the National Theatre, London 2013

Located in the square immediately facing the National Theatre, the temporary, boldly coloured installation hosts a 225-seat auditorium made of raw steel and plywood. The architects used rough sawn timber cladding, modelling the auditorium and its corner towers to complement the geometry of the National Theatre building.

Composed of recyclable materials, and fitted with re-used seating, The Shed is naturally ventilated, its four towers drawing air through the building.

Haworth Tompkins: The Shed
Architects: Haworth Tompkins (Steve Tompkins, Paddy Dillon, Shane McCamley)
Client: National Theatre
Contractor: Rise Contracts Ltd
Theatre Consultant: Charcoalblue LLP
Structural Engineer: Flint & Neill Ltd
Services Engineer: Ingleton Wood LLP
Quantity Surveyor: Gardiner & Theobald LLP
Acoustic Consultant: Arup Acoustics
Access Consultant: All Clear Designs Ltd
Fire consultant: LWF
Completion: February 2013
Construction Cost: £1.2m
Auditorium Dimensions: 14,8 x 18,3 x 8,7 metres (16,4 metres high including chimneys)
Gross Internal Area: 628 square metres

Haworth Tompkins: The Shed

Composed of recycled materials and featuring bold geometrical lines, the British architecture studio creates a temporary auditorium for the National Theatre in London's South Bank.

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