When we say ‘auditorium’, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind? Do you rewind to your school years, when you took part in fancy dress competitions, elocutions and annual days? Remember college, when you had to give presentations and participate in debates on stage? Even as working professionals, we’ve attended conferences, talks, concerts – a whole host of events in auditoriums.
Did you know, though, that auditoriums can be ‘smart’? By smart, we mean that it can have features that are connected to the internet and can be controlled by some remote device. That’s the bare bones of it – it can be a lot more. Here are six smart auditoriums whose unique architecture has given them a distinct identity and made them the benchmark of smart design.
- Schouwburg Amphion/ Mecanoo, The Netherlands
The Amphion has a distinct atmosphere. Red hues coupled with the gigantic stage, ample seating, and spacious balconies give it a presence. The theatre is thoughtfully segregated into large and small halls with square windows and a tilting façade that soaks in the daylight. Dynamic performances on stage are facilitated by the smart loading-unloading mechanism that can accommodate several trucks to manage logistics of the two theatre halls on the same floor level.
- Princess Alexandra Auditorium/ Associated Architects LLP, United Kingdom
The magnanimous, fan-shaped auditorium on the Yarm School seats up to 800 people. The auditorium is flexible in its utility for staging performances as well as teaching spaces due to the use of robust acoustic separating construction such as telescopic seating and a partition that divides the Auditorium and Stage Audio Theatre into two independent spaces, ensuring optimal usage of space.
- Winspear Opera House, United States
The construction of Winspear Opera House in Dallas is commensurate with the climate there. It has a large solar canopy that extends from the building, revealing a fully glazed sixty-foot high lobby, which facilitates transparency between the inside and outside of the auditorium. The architecture has enabled an intimacy between the performers and the audience by creating a horseshoe floor plan combined with the vertical stacking of its seating balconies.
- Everyman Theater/ Haworth Tompkins, United Kingdom
Everyman Theater houses a 400-seater auditorium, a smaller performance and development space, a large rehearsal room, public hallways, exhibition spaces, kitchen and bar facilities, along with support offices and spaces for workshops. The theatre has been designed as per the BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) standards. The thermally efficient mass-volumetric construction, natural ventilation systems, and low-consumption technology has resulted in excellent energy-efficiency.
- Bahrain National Theatre, Bahrain
Bahrain National Theatre beholds a distinct milieu of sky and sea that creates a drama of water, shade, and light. The auditorium manages to create a striking balance between the artistic facet and the cultural aspect of the region. The main auditorium is centrally established, which gives the spectators a memorable, one-of-a-kind viewing experience.
- Municipal Theater of Guarda, Portugal
The complex of Municipal Theater of Guarda has two independent buildings which are in contrast with the rural surroundings. The buildings have been meticulously constructed so that audiences understand and appreciate the contrast, the heterogeneity and the distinct nature of the performances with respect to the culture.
At Legrand, we believe in smart spaces that enable and enhance connections through smart architecture and the Internet of Things. So that there’s convenience and synergy across living experiences.
