Royal Opera House

Royal Opera House – Open Up project receives planning approval

Westminster City Council’s Planning Department has approved Stanton Williams’ scheme to ‘open up’ the Royal Opera House. The planning consent will allow the Royal Opera House to enhance their core values of creativity, excellence and inclusivity. The design, which has been developed by Stanton Williams in collaboration with Arup, will make the physical entrances and street-level public spaces of the Royal Opera House more open and inviting to everyone, encouraging artists, audiences, as well as the general public to explore the building and engage with the artistic activities within.

Open Up will also make the Royal Opera House a must-see destination. Existing spaces, such as the Linbury Studio Theatre and Foyer will be transformed, a new terrace off the Paul Hamlyn Hall will be created and other spaces developed to make the creative, technical and education work of the Royal Opera House more visible. Stanton Williams and Arup are both well known for their deep respect for heritage and appreciation of context and are therefore well positioned to deliver a Royal Opera House fit for the twenty first century.

Alan Stanton, Director at Stanton Williams said: “The Open Up project’s principal objective is to transform the public’s experience of the Royal Opera House at its Covent Garden home. We want to bring a sense of the magic that is created each night on stage to the open public spaces for all to enjoy. We are delighted that the project can now move forward.”

The main objectives of Open Up are:  To promote easier circulation and way-finding within the building  To expand and ‘open up’ the main foyer at ground level to create a better experience for visitors  To redesign the Linbury Studio Theatre with a distinct ‘character’ and improve audience and technical facilities  To create a glazed terrace at Amphitheatre level for additional seating covers in the restaurant and engagement with the Covent Garden Piazza below  To create a new staircase directly linking both the main foyer to the Paul Hamlyn Hall and the escalator to the Amphitheatre level  To create a strong visual connection between the Linbury foyer and the main ground floor foyer  To create a new glazed entrance on the Bow Street façade for an enhanced street presence and introduce more daylight

The main auditorium remains untouched so that the performance schedule of The Royal Ballet and The Royal Opera can operate as normal. Work is expected to commence towards the end of 2015 and should take two years to complete.

At the end of 2018, after three consecutive years of modernisation work, the Royal Opera House opened as part of the Open Up project and made accessible to everyone, whether they be tourists or subjects of Her Majesty.

The Royal Opera House now has new spaces dedicated to entertainment – not just bars and restaurants in a magnificent setting – but also free shows, artistic workshops, family activities and much more: an oasis of peace and beauty for the West End.

The Stanton Williams architectural studio was entrusted with developing a project to renew and extend the spaces, making them more inclusive, but without neglecting the basic values that characterise the history of one of the most important theatres in the world.

Lighting designers StudioFractal joined the team to create a comprehensive lighting strategy for all areas; assimilating the client’s aspirations with the architect’s vision, whilst remaining sensitive to the history and architecture of the Grade I listed building and the surrounding area. In addition to the ‘open up’ collaboration with Stanton Williams, StudioFractal designed a new lighting scheme for the Paul Hamlyn Hall and developed a sensitive exterior lighting scheme for Bow Street, Covent Garden Piazza & Retail Colonnade, Russell, Floral and James Street facades.

The Open Up project is an important part of the Royal Opera House's goal to make ballet and opera available to all. The building is more welcoming, transparent and permeable, with a range of new structures and activities, where the hospitality spaces – a new cafe and restaurant – are also accessible to the general public, not linked to the shows, as is the internal shop.

For this area, iGuzzini supplied the Laser CoB recessed lamps to light the showcases displaying some of the stage costumes, which create the opportunity to tell part of the theatre's glorious history.

Outside, the Royal Opera House Arcade is highlighted by illuminating the individual columns of which it is composed with Laser Blade InOut lamps installed at the capital abacus level; the lighting also helps create perspective along the arch.

The part that catches the eye of those who find themselves in the area of London, in Bow Street, is the magnificent structure of the Floral Hall, renamed the Paul Hamlyn Hall in 2007 as a tribute to the generosity of the Paul Hamlyn Foundation. Inside, there is now a charming restaurant overlooking the large central opening, which can also host performances. The inviting space is lit by Palco spotlights (on LV tracks) that, helped by their white finish, integrate perfectly with the marvellous glass and steel structure, which dates back to 1858.

The project has been shortlisted for the RIBA London Awards 2019.