There are only a few days remaining before the gala performance of The Bartered Bride, with which the most modern theatre in the Czech Republic will be opening to the public in Pilsen. The HELIKA architecture and design studio is behind the design of the building, which is exceptional by international standards and will place Pilsen among the cultural cities of Europe. The building will be used to present a repertory theatre with opera, operetta and musical, drama and ballet troupe. The construction of the Nove divadlo theatre is part of the 2015 European City of Culture project.
The ambitious project arose thanks to support from city hall, which announced an international architectural contest for the design of a new city theatre. This was won by the proposal by the Portuguese atelier Contemporãnea, which was, however, several times higher than the planned budget. A team from the HELIKA architecture and design studio, led by architect Vladimir Kruzik, took on the difficult task of reworking the contest proposal in order to react better to the urban context of the location and to make it possible for the city to realise the project financially.
The design of the Nove divadlo theatre in Pilsen is the result of the creative cooperation among architects, engineers, designers and the actual theatre artists. “The project arose in cooperation with several experts and consultants so that the building would satisfy the requirements of all genres of the dramatic arts that the Pilsen troupe has in its repertoire. The variability of the arrangement of the scenes is provided by elaborate stage techniques and technologies, the heart of the complex organism of the theatre,” explained Vladimir Kruzik.
The new theatre building is comprised of two functionally and structurally interconnected sections: the theatre and operational buildings. The longitudinal axis of the operational building, with offices, dressing rooms for the artistic troupes and facilities for the technical personnel, is oriented parallel to the busy street and acts as an effective sound barrier that protects the theatre building and the space of the interjacent square. The theatre building has two halls, the main one with a capacity for an audience of 461 and a smaller studio stage for about 150 visitors.
The theatre building is dominated by the oval openings of the perforated concrete façade, which is an architectural reinterpretation of theatre curtains, an interface between common-day reality and the magical illusive theatre space. There was 100 m3 of concrete required for its construction and with its dimensions of 22 x 14 metres it is the largest concrete sculpture in the country. “The design includes an illuminated façade controlled directly from the theatre direction – thus the façade becomes an element of the stage design, part of the performance,” added its creator, architect Vladimir Kruzik.
The gala premiere will be attended by the project’s creative team, representatives of the city of Pilsen and several guests of honour, personalities of the political and cultural scene.
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