Open Air Theatre Studio 

Construction of a new rehearsal building for the Open Air Theatre

Located in the grounds of Regent’s Park, the Open Air Theatre is one of London’s hidden theatre gems. For 15 weeks each summer the outdoor theatre bursts into life to play to audiences of over 1,300 people each night in its remarkable woodland setting.

The construction of a new rehearsal building has allowed the theatre to bring all of its production facilities together on the site for the first time since it was established in 1932. With the double-height rehearsal studio at its centre, the building also incorporates a new commercial kitchen, offices, green room and smaller rehearsal rooms for voice work.

The buildings are clad in a band of dark stained larch at the base, with a crown of textured cladding above. The details were developed to reinforce the magic of the setting in which the trees, plants and sky surround the visitor. They help to blur the distinction between building and landscape while creating a natural extension to the existing buildings along the edge of the site.

The new building has been constructed from a prefabricated cross laminated timber panel system. A total of 130m3 of solid timber was used in the walls, floors and roof of the building which equates to 95 tonnes of CO2 which will be stored in the structure over its lifetime. This lightweight structure was erected over two weeks and required relatively small foundations – minimising the impact on tree roots.

The studio is the second of Reed Watts projects at the theatre and was constructed in just 7 months. In 2016 we completed a new dry store, a cover to the scenery dock and new landscape connections to the bar area while in 2023 we extended and improved the auditorium and associated technical infrastructure.

  1. Sectors

    Culture & Heritage

  2. Location

    Regents Park, London

  3. Client

    Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

  4. Status

    Completed 2018

  5. Collaborators

    Eurban

  6. Contractor

    GPF Lewis

  7. Photographer

    Simon Kennedy

The design is sympathetic to the magical ambience of the Open Air Theatre. Realised with an acute understanding of the natural environment and the importance of our location in the heart of Regent’s Park, one might be forgiven for assuming that these new buildings have always been a feature of the theatre’s infrastructure.

William Village, Executive Director

I am so impressed with the building, it’s hard to believe how much Reed Watts have been able to fit into the space. The building is all but invisible and totally inaudible from Nannies Lawn and sits in the park extremely sensitively in terms of materials as well as dimensions.

Nick Biddle, Regent's Park Manager

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