Charcoalblue Honored with Three Civic Trust Awards

Charcoalblue, a UK theatre design consultancy firm, was recognized with three design projects scoop Civic Trust Awards: the radically transformed Royal Shakespeare Theatre, the dramatic Corby Cube, and the tranquil Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield.

The Civic Trust Awards were established in 1959 to recognize the very best in architecture, design, planning, landscape, and public art. Awards are given to projects of the highest quality design, but only if they are judged to have made a positive cultural, social, or economic contribution to the local community.

From 306 national and international entries, 52 projects were recognized by the Civic Trust Awards at a ceremony held at The Hub in Edinburgh. In addition to the awards, the Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield was given a special award, which recognizes projects that have demonstrated outstanding credentials in specific areas.

"We're over the moon that these three projects have been recognized by The Civic Trust," says Andy Hayles, managing partner at Charcoalblue. "Each one drew on different aspects of the expertise of our team here at Charcoalblue, so apart from actually seeing these buildings realized and in use, winning awards is the icing on a very tasty cake for us all here!"

The Hepworth Gallery, named after the sculptor Barbara Hepworth, has been called "a future place of pilgrimage for all lovers of sculpture." Charcoalblue, working alongside David Chipperfield Architects, designed the auditorium, creating a flexible, re-configurable space, which allows speedy transformation from one layout to another -- from a fully blacked out theatre to a natural light-filled exhibition space.

At the Corby Cube, with Hawkins Brown Architects, Charcoalblue's innovative approach marries Victorian theatrical tradition with modern adaptable building technologies -- proving a big success and helping revitalise the local community.

The Civic Trust award is the tenth accolade this year for the Royal Shakespeare Theatre transformation at Stratford-upon-Avon. Working alongside technical staff of the RSC and Bennetts Associates Architects, Charcoalblue transformed the 1932 theatre from a drafty proscenium house to a thrust stage theatre that Shakespeare would recognize.

"Marrying a 1,000-seat courtyard design with an intimate relationship between actor and audience was a highly complex design brief," says Hayles. "It is wonderful that the Civic Trust has recognized the quality of the team's work."