More welcoming, transparent and permeable than ever
London Regional Award 2019
Stanton Williams for the Royal Opera House
Contract value: Undisclosed
GIA: 3862m2
After three years of construction, the ROH is more welcoming, transparent and permeable than ever. The extended and enhanced multi-level public foyer that links new transparent entrances on Covent Garden Piazza and Bow Street is 50% larger, drawing the public in. These interlinked public spaces have become a lively daytime venue. The cleverly planned lobby en-route to the Linbury Theatre creates a combined staircase and double height performance space that gives new life to the reception with visual links to Bow Street while creating a new union with the main opera house. The 400 seat Linbury Theatre, meanwhile, replaces the old studio theatre, becoming an important ‘other’ venue for opera and ballet; intimate, technologically advanced and beautifully detailed. The latest work creates a new public face for this great institution, becoming a significant part of the Royal Opera House’s aim to make opera and ballet available to everyone.