Today was the site visit for the new project. Hulme Hippodrome and Playhouse is more or less derelict and we have free rein on the place, although the decorated interior is Grade II listed. The project is focused on the Playhouse, the slightly smaller of the two.
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| Wilberforce Close Façade |
On arriving at the site, there wasn't really much to see: it looks nothing like a theatre and has no obvious entrance to it except a small area of non-brickwork in one corner. Its the kind of building that you could easily walk past and not even realise was there. In front of it, is the Hulme Community Garden Centre, set up and run by the local community. This is extending to the patch of empty land in front of the Playhouse but part of out brief is to landscape this area as well as create a proposal for the interior and exterior of the building.
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| Hidden Column on the Hippodrome |
Before exploring inside the theatre, we were encouraged to wander around and take a closer look at the exterior. My camera had completely run out of batteries so I had to resort to using my iPod but while the quality wasn't great, it enabled me to capture things that really interested me. It also encouraged me to us my sketchbook more (although the rain soon put a stop to that).
The North-west façade was originally the entrance to the Hippodrome. Something that really caught my eye was the columns that decorated either side of the door. These had been covered up with some sort of plaster board but with the building being derelict and subject to vandalism, the boards had either been smashed up or fallen into disrepair, leaving the original details exposed.
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| Back stage at the Playhouse |
When it had started to rain too much to stay outside, we headed into the building, but not through the box office and main entrance as you once would have. To get into the building, we had to go through the stage door. Inside was freezing! Back stage had quite a clinical-anti-septic kind of feel to it: tiled flooring, white (ish) walls, etc. One of the first things I notice was the small step that ran down the room. This, I later realised, was the boundary of the stage. There was also a suspended/cantilevered walkway which lead to what I think are currently being used as some sort of offices/meeting rooms. The whole contrast of blue and white was quite unusual and striking.
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| The stage in the Playhouse |
I kind of knew what to expect when I went through into the front of house but I didn't expect it to be as garish(?) as it was. The stage was full of musical instruments so it was obvious that the place was used on a regular basis and make use of the stage, despite half of it being cut off by the fire curtain.
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| The box office |
The main entrance/box office/cloakroom was really small. Especially compared to the size of the theatre. It was very hard to move around when one of the groups came in to have a look. The entrance was completely blocked off from the outside but the glass paned doors reminded me a lot of the Art Deco style: straight geometric patterns.
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| The original foyer entrance |
After we were too cold to stay in the theatre any longer, we headed over to the Zion Arts Centre to get an idea of what could be done with the space. The Centre, as well as having its own theatre, also has dance studios and gallery space. The building is an old church that was completely regenerated into this community arts centre.
We also went into the city to the Royal Exchange Theatre near the Arndale. This, again was to give us ideas and made us think about what could be done to with the shell of an old building to give it a new lease of life. The theatre in the Corn Exchange barely touches the existing building and looks very odd and modern among the pilasters that line the room but at the same time, the use of a completely modern looking theatre, although, being circular, links back to the original Greek and Roman theatres, is really interesting and visiting the three gave me a lot to think about in terms of my proposal.
