The Egg, 2005

The Egg is a

Bath, a listed any remaining interior an auditorium structure into the centre of the building, supported by a street level café, a basement workshop and a rooftop rehearsal

The auditorium, can be daylit from the existing windows, is highly adaptable and playfully detailed, but is nevertheless designed to evoke the glamour of the beautiful Georgian theatre next door. The café is a robust, friendly and accessible meeting place used throughout the day and evening by audiences, families with young children and the general public alike. A new circulation stair winds in and out of an enclosed former light well and incorporates lookout points, balconies and seats, inviting exploration and play. Materials are designed to complement the shell of the original building, while a mirrored café ceiling sets up games of inversion and distortion. We tried to adapt the scale and personality of the spaces throughout with young people in mind, helped by a group of children and young people who were involved in the briefing and development of the design from the outset. Adults are welcome of course, but the building belongs to the children.

“When it is full of children, the atmosphere is beyong electric, and prepared adults should enter at their own risk. There are no stifling facilities-management regimes. Nothing here is precious. This is very much a building for children and this has everything to do with the building’s design.”

Architects’ Journal