ROYAL ACADEMY OF MUSIC

C ASE STUDY

ROYAL ACADEMY OF MUSIC

Designed for both opera and musical theatre productions, The Susie Sainsbury Theatre has been redesigned by Ian Ritchie Architects and sits at the heart of the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Inspired by the curved shapes of string instruments, the 309-seat American cherry-lined Theatre has been acoustically refined to deliver outstanding sound qualities.

Architect Ian Ritchie comments on the space “In designing the new spaces, we took inspiration from the shape and wooden construction of string instruments, their tuning mechanisms and the physical relationships between artist and instrument. Our earliest research into the materiality of wood, how it is transformed and tuned, along with an awareness of the role of varnish in instruments made in Cremona, birthplace of Stradivarius, led us to exploit the haptic qualities that finished wood would give as a reflector of sound, warmth and light.

For the Theatre our ambition was to conceive a space that could give the sense of both intimate and epic qualities depending upon the chosen music, in contrast to the cool lime washed oak whiteness of the Recital Hall above the Theatre. The cherry-lined walls, ceiling, balcony front and balcony (Prunus serotina) of the Theatre have all been acoustically refined to deliver outstanding sound qualities with graded detailing to blend the sound in all directions and carefully angled surfaces creating a completely immersive experience for audiences.”