image by David Chipperfield Architects

© David Chipperfield Architects . Pubblicata il 15 Settembre 2005.

Competition win – Estepona Theatre, Spain

David Chipperfield Architects in collaboration with IA+B of Bilbao have won an international competition to design the new theatre for the town of Estepona in southern Spain.

During our investigations for the theatre project it became apparent that the building should encourage a direct link with the sea front. The scheme achieves this by incorporating the existing unlandscaped park into the project and removing the street that currently separates them.

A system of opaque and transparent walls wraps around the theatre complex, providing large shaded viewing platforms over the park and sea. This system extends out through the park to the sea in a sequence of overlapping walls, generating a stepped paseo and offering alternating openings and vistas of the surrounding park.

The new proposed 600-seat theatre complex comprises of two floors. The upper floor forms the main public level and sits on a plinth two metres higher than street level, and maximises views towards the sea and old town. The theatre is composed of four separate volumes linked through one big foyer: two opaque auditoria, a transparent room for private functions and a bar. The lower floor of the building will contain the services, administration and actors’ changing rooms.

Building Area:

Approximate area of the building 3.000 sqm

Approximate area of the car park 3.000 sqm

Approximate area of the entire plot (including theatre site and landscape) 11.650 sqm

Competition Organizer: Ayuntamiento de Estepona

Architects: David Chipperfield Architects in collaboration with IA+B

M&E Consultants: Arup