A mixed-use development consisting of two buildings on a constrained site with complex interfaces. The first building was developed with a twin focus on maximising future flexibility and minimising embodied carbon, with floors formed of post-tensioned flat slabs supported on concrete-filled steel columns and stability provided by a steel braced core. The second structure, a 600-seat theatre, is supported atop the Tottenham Court Road Elizabeth Line station. Extensive acoustic isolation measures were required to meet - and ultimately exceed - noise suppression recommendations for theatres.
Creating the first new West End Theatre in 50 years atop a train station involved many structural engineering challenges. The project includes novel foldable balconies to create a flexible performance space.
The team demonstrated true collaborative design as each component contributes to achieving full acoustic isolation for a theatre that is located just a corridor’s width away from an extraction fan, with a noise profile equivalent to a jet engine.
Vent shafts were wrapped with precast concrete infill panels using magnetite aggregate to provide additional density. Air gaps around the auditorium for noise isolation required two structures with independent stability systems, tolerances and deflection behaviours to work in harmony as a single entity.
The building is also acoustically isolated from the station structure below.