Old Athenaeum theatre pics

Moderators: John, Sharon, Fossil, Lucky Poet, crusty_bint, Jazza, dazza

Re: Old Athenaeum theatre pics

Postby nodrog » Tue Oct 07, 2008 10:54 am

Hi Grant,

Thanks for posting on here; its very interesting to get a glimpse into the other side of the argument!
I’ve no doubt that within the constraints of the architects plans, that an excellent job has been done retaining and restoring many of those original elements. I’m looking forward to seeing the finished work very much, and completely agree that alterations are far preferable to demolitions! I’m also most intrigued to see what you’ve done with the hatboxes…

However, I do disagree on a couple of points :D

Firstly, it’s not the case that no-one wanted it as a theatre: I was involved with a local theatre group who were actively trying to purchase the building. Unfortunately, they were outbid.
It’s certainly true that retail will be a more lucrative use for the building (once it eventually gets let). I’d still disagree it was the only viable use though.

I’d also take issue with your definition of ‘reversible’. I’m sure everything that has been done is technically reversible, if you threw enough money at it!
What has been done wouldn’t be practical, or more relevantly, economical to reverse given the small size of the theatre though. Or am I wrong ? Is there a management plan in place with costings and procedures thought through for how these alterations could be reversed and the building restored if required?

Given that both this and the neighbouring Townhouse building were under the same ownership, I do think that there was a missed opportunity here to explore re-opening access routes from the Townhouse as an option to solve the level access and other issues in a way that wouldn’t have required such dramatic interventions in the auditorium and, in particular, stage spaces.

To count as realistically reversible in my mind, alterations shouldn’t take away from or remove the primary historic fabric of the building.
As an example of an alternative approach, the former New Gallery cinemas in Regent Street, London, is now a Habitat store. The stepped balcony was boxed over to create new flat floor levels, leaving the rake intact underneath. Additional sales floor space was created by constructing a new lightweight, floating floor in the void between balcony front and proscenium. This has minimum physical intervention into the original fabric.

The sad fact is of course that neither of these buildings is likely to ever revert to theatrical use: having now been converted for retail, who is ever going to be able to make an economic case for theatrical use when - on Regent Street and Buchanan Street - retail is a far more potentially lucrative business?

Which is why the guidelines for dealing with listed buildings state when considering how to reuse buildings, that the most appropriate use may not be the most profitable use, something that’s sadly often conveniently ignored by planning departments… :)

Nodrog

PS The underground has been rumbling past every 15 minutes for the past 100 years. It doesn’t seem to have been too much of a problem before ;)
"I'd just move on to the 'hot-air ballooning vigilante' stage of my career earlier than planned"

www.scottishcinemas.org.uk
www.twitter.com/scottishcinemas
User avatar
nodrog
Third Stripe
Third Stripe
 
Posts: 770
Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2004 3:37 pm
Location: Glasgow

Re: Old Athenaeum theatre pics

Postby SomeRandomBint » Tue Aug 21, 2012 3:46 pm

UPDATE!

You'll all have noticed, but the Ath is open again, with Razzle (or whatever it's called) having moved from the Townhouse into the Ath to make way for a restaurant.

I worked in the Old Ath for nearly three years, and was there when the Scottish Youth Theatre were moving out (and we were running round the building grabbing souvenirs!) and during the period when it was sold. So going back in after the work had been done to "convert" it was a very odd experience.

Here's a pic showing the auditorium as it is now:

Image
Old Ath interior by somerandombint, on Flickr

As you can see, the final conversion is exactly as Nodrog described in his last post! I assume the new floor is removable. They've also dropped the level of the circle (made easier by the fact there was an entresol level underneath the old raked seating which was used for storage and access during performances) The old door into the circle is now a window, and the whole stalls/stage/bar area underneath has been completely opened up.

If you're interested, there are more photos of the Ath on my flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/somerandombint/sets/72157631177209258/. I wasn't able to get upstairs to see the first and second floors. But they had been altered long ago (and not very well, if I'm honest), so it would purely be for old times sake. One room I'd love to see again is the organ room on the top floor - although it's so spooky that I don't know I'd have the guts! I did manage to point the camera up the stairs though:

Image
The Staircase by somerandombint, on Flickr

It's sad to see such a lovely theatre being used for retail, but the main reason for the SYT choosing to sell when they did was that it was becoming increasingly clear that the cost of operating as a theatre was just too much, as well as the fact that it was almost impossible to make it accessible to wheelchairs. The offices were also subject to "sick building" syndrome, as they were made from stud walls with no decoration. The money from the sale enabled them to purchase the Old Sheriff Court building, which is now far more suitable for their needs. Even with lottery funding, I think it would be impossible for a charity/amateur group to operate the Ath as a theatre. Maybe one day though... maybe one day!
"-What was all that then? - What? - THAT. - That was Glasgow"
User avatar
SomeRandomBint
Second Stripe
Second Stripe
 
Posts: 178
Joined: Fri Jun 03, 2011 8:18 pm
Location: Up a Close

Previous

Return to Glasgow Chat (Coffee Lounge)

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 24 guests