THEATRES: HISTORICAL SUMMARY Theatre planning requires an understanding of complex functional relationships which can, in part, be gained by examining the 2500-year-old history of theatre develop. iment. The examples shown here and on the following page Give an insight into the tradition of theatre building, the principles of which are stil in use today, although ‘contemporary architects are increasingly injecting modern thinking into theatre design. Wysos Theatre, the start of European theatre building (. Marcellus Theatre, the first theatre in Rome built entirely of stone =. Medieval stage theatre, temporary platform and fitings ~ @ Inner raom of the Swan Theatre from a drawing by Van de Wit in 1596 »). italian theatre from the start of the 16th century ~ ). Early Renaissance theatres were temporary wooden structures in existing halls, e.g. Vasari developed a wooden reusable system for @ theatre in the Salone dei Cinquencento Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, The Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza» (@). The first Permanent theatre building of the Renaissance was the Comedie Francaise in Paris . @. Boxes were first builtin the mid-17th century. Teatro Farnese in Parma + was the first building with a moving scenery system. Teatro ‘San Carlo’ in Naples -» @. Teatro alla Scala Milan 92, the ‘model for opera houses in the 18th and 18th centuries, but also the new Metropolitan Opera in New York, 1968. Grand Opéra House in Bordeaux -» 42. The great foyer was the ‘model for the Grand Opera House in Paris, Garnier 1875, ® dione har athnn, Maen Tea, Rom Tr ey t vey tho mi | 478THEATRES: HISTORICAL SUMMARY ‘The Bayrouth Festival Theatre @ With his theate form, Wagner erected a counterpoint tothe Grand Opera House in Paris Tota theatre project by W. Gropius, Piscator. To note: rotting audience space, stage with paternoster system ~ projection optone ‘on wals and cling» @)-(@. Dessau Regional Theatre = Eaty example of @ modern stage system with sufcent secondary ‘stages Dra forthe National Theatre in Mannie «(Theatre on Lenniner Pitz, Beri, the fst lage new bulding with a flexible theatre space [conversion ofthe Mendelsohn building 'Unversun from 1928) » @). Opéra Basile, Paris» 7. the previous largest stage system with ten secandary stages on two level, ‘Trends in current theatre bui ‘There are two trends taday Aes nna a0 hat “1 Preservation, restaration and modernisation of the OMe Feria Mestre, Bayreuth 1676 previous theatres ofthe 1h and up tothe mide ofthe 20th century. 2. New buildings with “experimenta’ open space features, 24, Theatee.on Lohniner Platz, Berlin ~ @) Ina similar = = diection are the many conversions from previous rooms to theatre workshops with seats for" about 80-160 onlookers, Opera and theatre: There are two diferent expressions of theatre building: the opera and the theatre. The operas inthe tration ofthe Kaan opera buildings ofthe 18th and 19th centuries »p. 476 (> Ga. is characterised by & clear spaia-archtectural separation between the sudience area ‘and the stage by the orchestra pit, and through lage seat ‘numbers (1000 to almost 4000 seats, aswell asthe corresponding box system and the circles nacessary for large numbers of spectators, eg, Testo allo Scala (Milan) with 2600 seats, Dautache (Oper (Beri) with 1986 seats, Motropoitan Opera (New Yor! with ‘3788 seats, Opéra Bastile (Pars), 2700 seats p. 476. As a counterpoint 16 the opera form as crcltbox theatre isthe The Festival Theatr, Bayreuth. This is conceived asa stalls theatre on the Greek Roman principle and has oaly 1645 seats “The theatre is structurally in the tadition of the German reform theatres of the 18th century. It is characterised by the Stalle arrangement tie. the audience sit in a lage ascending avian @) + Q notated paying eee T e curved areal and by a distinctive, front acting stage (an acting 2 fatea in front of the proscenium in the auditorium). Theatres LD however, particularly See the tration ofthe English theatre =, coats Fas Lop 89 ot» 476 @), ue. an cting area inthe auctor, IG) pore eeenernsean ase pene ee ‘Amodern example trom the English speaking area is the lan view ot upper circle Chichester Festival Theatre, England, by Powell & Moya, 1962 ‘One example in Germany is the Mannheim Nationa! Theat, small theatre, Weber, Hamer, Fischer 1957, “The variable open room form was intensified by the room experiments of the theatres in the 1970s, e.g, Concordia ‘Theatre, Bremen, (conversion of a one-time cinema). Room variation options are shown in the Theatre on Lehniner Plats, Berlin p.478 6. ‘A specialty inthe German-speaking area is the ‘multipurpose theatre mixed form of opera house and theatre) whieh is characterised by the dominating requirements of the ‘opera, eg, Stadtthester Heilbronn, Blate & Gerling, 1982. © nents ye teas ns f ri BI SEY | Bae © Metre on adwine Pas, Bain 1982 anH H g | H H F FH H i 78 O sraraiae, © et ttn nr wrote Fay © aaa @ pon win THEATRES: AUDITORIUMS sessing demand ‘element ofa foasibity stody is the assessment of ‘demand for porforming art within the commurity that he foc proposed 10 im is 10 estebish whether there ae laudhences forthe proposed programme of use, and to define.» atchment ates rom which audiences ae to be draw, Assessment the area under consideration includes staies of levels, sahtines, scoustes ceuation and seating density, as wall ae 20 and shape of platormstoge ‘Sze oF auditorium: An ares of at least Om per spectator isto Length of rows: A maximum of 16 sats per ale erase is permissibia tone side oxt door of Yo whe prowied pord-trows 3). Exits, escape routes: 1m wide per 150 people (min. wisth 28m) @-o. Volume oF room: This i¢ obtained on the basis of acoustic Fequiements (reverberation) az follows: playhouses approx | Srmspecatr, techial veel Foures soto av (9 approx. &-8mispectater of av volume. For reasons, the volumes shoul bn lees han these anges which are too pronounced aught) Proportions of audilorum These are obtained tom the spectators psychological perception and viewing angle, a well 95 the requirement fora good view rom all seate Good view without head movement, but slight eve ‘movement of about 30" ‘+ Good view with sight heat movement and slight eve stance of lat row rom the proscemur ine start of sage + fr playhouse 24m {maximum distance from whieh ti si