With an extensive programme of music and drama activities which had outgrown its previous facilities, the Perse School in Cambridge commissioned the construction of a new state-of-the-art building to be the base for performing arts for the students. Designed by Haworth Tompkins, the centre provides a new and flexible facility which has become the heart of the school.
Named after Peter Hall, the former Perse School pupil who went on to become director of the National Theatre, the performing arts centre includes a 400 seat auditorium, an adaptable foyer space that incorporates a large, daylit rehearsal and teaching room, an exhibition space and full back of house dressing rooms, workshop and ancillary spaces, along with a suite of classrooms.
The galleried foyer at the entrance of the building is naturally daylit and overlooks a landscaped courtyard. The space operates as a café for pupils and staff during the school day, and as a foyer for audiences during events. In the auditorium, a rich, dark timber-lined space provides a beautifully intimate room for dance, theatre, assembly, music and speech, whilst a suite of dressing rooms and technical spaces complete the theatre accommodation.
Shadbolt were asked to assist with the project to ensure the acoustic standards were met throughout the building. Factory-primed FSC certified doors and doorsets were manufactured and supplied to the building with both FD30 and FD6o fire resisting performance and 43dB acoustic rating.
