THE ISLINGTON

The Islington was one of the most enjoyable projects to work on, not least because it involved a complex site, and an exciting brief, for, a new theatre in London is a rare thing, and a new theatre without public funding required real development ingenuity and architectural flair.

Working with Partner, Rex Wilkinson, Benedikt Bolza, and Daniel Ovadia, and completed by executive Architect Amin Taha Architects, London, the brief was to maximise development potential in the provision of lucrative apartments and restaurant space, whilst providing space enough for a working theatre, foyers and ancillary spaces. In addition, the proposed auditorium itself was to be the salvaged set from Oscar-winning film Shakespeare in Love. The solution was to sink the entire three storey Globe-style theatre underground and use the roof as a public ‘piazza’, itself covered with a glass canopy for all-weather use by surrounding restaurants. Above this is an amphitheatre of 72 apartments. Architecturally, the post and beam structure of the Shakespearean theatre proved a useful reference for a modern interpretation in glass and concrete, which could nevertheless invoke the more poetic image of a forest glade.