Battersea Arts Centre Grand Hall: first look
© Fred Howarth
The new Grand Hall was designed by architects Haworth Tompkins, and Martin Lydon from the firm spoke to us about the process of designing the new space. David Jubb, artistic director of the venue also describes what happened and how the building was redesigned.
The venue opens this evening with Missing from theatre company Gecko. The original run of the show at Battersea Arts Centre was interrupted by the fire. Later in the season Bryony Kimmings will stage I'm a Phoenix Bitch along with pieces from Little Bulb, The Paper Cinema, Lemn Sissay and the BAC Beatbox Academy.
Jubb said: "The re-opening of the Grand Hall marks a massive moment for us – it's the first time the entire building has been fully open for the public to explore for 12 years. This follows an iterative project which has renovated and opened up the whole building. When the flames rose above the Grand Hall on Friday 13 March 2015 it looked as if all that progress might be lost. But due to brilliant and brave firefighters – and the incredible generosity of more than 6,000 people and organisations – the building was saved and the Grand Hall is reborn!"
