![Exterior view](https://howells-uk.imgix.net/images/project-ashton-theatre-exterior-1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=blank.imgix.net&fit=clip&w=250&h=166.66666666667&q=82&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-2.1.1)
Entrance approach
![Reception foyer](https://howells-uk.imgix.net/images/project-ashton-theatre-foyer.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=blank.imgix.net&fit=clip&w=250&h=375&q=82&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-2.1.1)
Reception foyer
![Theatre](https://howells-uk.imgix.net/images/project-ashton-theatre-theatre.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=blank.imgix.net&fit=clip&w=250&h=187.5&q=82&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-2.1.1)
Theatre
![Ground floor](https://howells-uk.imgix.net/images/projects-ashton-theatre-ground-floor.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=blank.imgix.net&fit=clip&w=250&h=187.5&q=82&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-2.1.1)
Ground floor
![Section](https://howells-uk.imgix.net/images/projects-ashton-theatre-section.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=blank.imgix.net&fit=clip&w=250&h=187.5&q=82&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-2.1.1)
Section
![Concept arrangement](https://howells-uk.imgix.net/images/projects-ashton-theatre-concept.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=blank.imgix.net&fit=clip&w=250&h=187.5&q=82&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-2.1.1)
Concept arrangement
Barnes Theatre, Shrewsbury School
Dating back to the 1500s, Shrewsbury School is an independent co-educational school founded via Royal Charter by Edward VI. Located on the banks of the River Severn, the school moved to its current campus, located in a Conservation Area, in 1882. Our involvement with the school dates to 2013 and the production of a vision document for a campus of fine Victorian and early twentieth-century buildings. The plan proposed multiple interventions, including remodelling the existing Ashton Theatre, now known as the Barnes Theatre. The school stipulated our design should give the theatre a greater prominence in the life of the school, both visually and socially.
The renovated auditorium and theatre ancillary spaces add to a two-storey extension housing a new foyer reception, flexible teaching spaces, dance studios, and dressing rooms. The extension's minimal glass and metal foyer, with a grand entrance portico—referenced from the main school building—preserves the intervisibility between the Grade II listed Churchill's Hall and Grade I listed War Memorial. Internally, three-metre-high ceilings create a welcoming space for gatherings and allow the second floor's dance studios adequate headroom, creating a world-class teaching and performance space for the students at the school to enjoy.
Client | Shrewsbury School | |||
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Location | Shrewsbury | |||
Size | 850 sq m | |||
Status | Completed 2020 | |||
Team |
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Tomasz Koczur |