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Photo©Jens Lindhe

Designed by Lundgaard & Tranberg Arkitekter The Royal Playhouse is unique among many large-scale, recent public projects in that it was delivered under budget and on time while maintaining the architectural vision. The project began in 2002 with the award of first place in an open international competition, construction was complete in 2007, and the playhouse recently celebrating its grand opening in 2008. The Royal Playhouse occupies one of Copenhagen’s most important points of conjuncture, the meeting of the historic 18th century city quarter of Frederiksstaden, the city harbour, and the sea. The playhouse, firmly rooted in the context of its historic neighbourhood, takes its place among the culture institutions along the harbour, marking where the inner harbour angles and opens toward the distant Sound.

Drawings by Lundgaard & Tranberg Arkitekter

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The Playhouse is located south of where Sankt Annæ Plads, one of Copenhagen’s finest urban spaces, meets the harbour. Here the elegant, elongated urban room meets the waterfront, giving way to views that follow the harbour north to the distant Sound. The playhouse acts as an anchor for this meeting of city and sea, revealing and reinforcing the existing urban spatial qualities. The playhouse provides a striking, yet conscientious conclusion to Frederiksstadens continuous urban structure while simultaneously embracing the harbour and opening up to both theatregoers and those passing by.

Photo©Adam Mørk

The building consists of 3 clear compositional elements:

1. PROMENDADE
One enters the transparent and sheltered glass foyer of the playhouse via the elegant, wood-clad deck of the promenade, an inviting public walk that veers and dances over the water, forming a new, varied passage along the harbour, accessible to all. The foyer and promenade appear to float over the water, supported by Venetian inspired tilted columns that contribute a visual lightness and transparency.

2. SCENE BUILDING
The primary theatre spaces are housed in the massive masonry scene building, which echoes the surrounding historic harbour warehouses. The dark brick of the exterior is drawn deep into the interior, creating a grotto-like universe of textures and dramatic lighting. The magic of the theatre awakens upon encountering the raw masonry walls, which enclose the various scenes and provide the backdrop for the foyer. Here there is no open transparency, here the eye meets niches, balconies, and stairs- and only seldom, isolated views reveal the secrets of the quiet, powerful, masonry form. A combination of strafing and muted artificial light reveals the distinctive and cragged character of the individual bricks- the fountainhead of the theatre’s intense, raw energy.

Photo©Signe Baadsgaard

3. SERVICE LEVEL
The expansive, projecting upper level, containing artists functions, workspaces, and administration, is borne by full storey steel trusses and is sheathed in varying hues of green glass. Daylight and views of the harbour flood in during the day, and at twilight a transformation occurs- the upper level pulses with colour and light, presenting a nightly show on the urban stage, signalling life and creative activity.

These three building elements are united in a harmonious geometric composition, crowned by the copper-clad scene tower, that completes the surrounding urban fabric, opens the city to the sea, and, not least, comprises a modern “theatre-machine,” whose purpose is the creation of the optimal conditions for the meeting of public and spectacle.The primary organizational concept of the playhouse imparts compactness and minimizes the spread of the building, thereby reducing the distances between the many functions and providing an easily understood spatial layout. The complex interrelation of spaces and uses was generative in the development of the buildings concept and disposition. The design of the playhouse and way it functions are inseparable.

At the heart of the playhouse is a circular, grotto-like auditorium, seemingly carved out of the masonry mass of the scene building. The Main Stage is constructed of striking, staggered masonry walls, providing the necessary acoustic environment with a reverberation time of 1 second. The specially designed red velour chairs follow the room’s concentric geometry, creating an intimate relationship between actor and spectator, where every sight, sound, and breath is shared.

Because of the harsh Danish maritime conditions, the selection of exterior materials required particular attention and care. The specially designed, dark, elongated brick used throughout the building is of hand formed, hard-fired English clay. It was particularly important that the brick be robust enough to tolerate being used below the water-line. The scene tower and entry pavilions are of copper, and the promenade is decked with oak planks.

Photo©Adam Mørk

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Photo©Jens Lindhe

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CONSULTANTS
Client Consultants: Moe & Brødsgaard and Erik Møllers Tegnestue
Engineer: COWI
Acoustic Engineer: Gade & Mortensen Akustik A/S
Theatre Installations: Ramböll AB Sverige
Graphic Design: Aggebo & Henriksen
Light Art: Jesper Kongshaug