The new BREEAM Excellent rated Everyman Theatre in Liverpool by Haworth Tompkins has won the coveted RIBA Stirling Prize 2014 for the best building of the year.
Now in its 19th year, the RIBA Stirling Prize is the UK’s most prestigious architecture prize.
The old Everyman Theatre in Liverpool opened in 1964 in the shell of a nineteenth century chapel on one of Liverpool’s main streets. Although a much-loved institution, the building itself was in a state of disrepair. The decision to pull the theatre down and replace it with a new one has been a nine-year project for the architects Haworth Tompkins. They have expertly met a difficult challenge: that of creating an entirely new and sustainable building, whilst retaining and revitalising the best-loved features of its predecessor. The architects were tasked with ensuring that the soul of the old Everyman, one of informality and community ownership – the ‘theatre of the people’- was carried into the new building. The result is a new building with a striking exterior and elegant interior, all with exceptional attention to detail and sustainability credentials.
The judges’ citation for the RIBA Stirling Prize winner:
"The new Everyman in Liverpool is truly for every man, woman and child. It cleverly resolves so many of the issues architects face every day.
… It is exceptionally sustainable; not only did the construction re-use 90% of the material from the old theatre, but all spaces are naturally ventilated including the auditorium with its 440 seats. Clever, out of sight concrete labyrinths supply and expel air whilst maintaining total acoustic isolation. It is one of the first naturally ventilated auditoria in the UK".
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Sustainability Strategy
The Everyman has been conceived from the outset as an exemplar of sustainable good practice.
An earlier feasibility study had considered replacing the Playhouse and Everyman in a much larger and more expensive building on a new site, but Haworth Tompkins argued for the importance of continuity and compactness on the original site. Carefully dismantling the existing structure, the nineteenth century bricks were salvaged for reuse as the shell of the new auditorium and the majority of other material were recycled for use elsewhere. As it was not possible to acquire a bigger site and demolish more adjoining buildings, it was necessary to make efficient use of the site footprint.
Together with the client team the space brief was distilled into its densest and most adaptable form. Having minimised the space and material requirement of the project, the fabric was designed to achieve a BREEAM Excellent rating, unusual for an urban theatre building.
Key design features of the building
Natural ventilation is used for all the main performance and workspaces.
In the auditorium, outdoor air is supplied to the audience without the need for mechanical assistance for the majority of the summer and all through the autumn and spring. This is achieved by drawing in air from an inlet to the rear and using the thermal mass of the large plenum under the workshop floor for pre-cooling. An air-source heat pump allows incoming air to be heated or cooled when necessary with fan assistance for smaller winter air volumes or as a boost during exceptionally high temperatures.
The air is then supplied to the space through an arrangement of openings behind and below the seats. The people and lighting help to warm the air, making it buoyant, and causing it rise to high level. From here, it is carried away through an acoustically attenuated exhaust plenum integrated within the technical gallery level to the exhaust chimneys.
The chimney's height above the intake is required to achieve the stack effect and ensure the air flow is predominantly up and out.
EV1 also has a street level intake, feeding floor grills, and has chimney slots for extract. The rehearsal room is ventilated by roof windcatchers, supplemented with opening terrace doors. The foyers are vented via opening screens and a large lightwell. The fully exposed concrete structure (with a high percentage of cement replacement) and reclaimed brickwork walls provide excellent thermal mass, while the orientation and fenestration design optimize solar response - the entire west façade is designed as a large screen of moveable sunshades. Offices and ancillary spaces are ventilated via opening windows. The basement bistro is the only principal space to be mechanically ventilated.
Out of the low carbon energy systems considered, Gas Fired CHP was selected so that the electrical output compliments the pattern of use of year round hot water demand for catering, showers etc. Rainwater is harvested to provide a proportion of WC flushing demand. The front of house and auditorium house lighting schemes use entirely low energy LED fittings. The design of the auditorium provides a large degree of flexibility to allow it to adapt to future artistic and technical demands.
The Everyman Theatre was chosen by the judges today from the following outstanding shortlisted entries:
- Library of Birmingham by Mecanoo
- London Aquatics Centre by Zaha Hadid Architects
- London School of Economics - Saw Swee Hock Student Centre by O’Donnell + Tuomey Architects
- Manchester School of Art by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
- The Shard by Renzo Piano Building Workshop
The judges for the 2014 RIBA Stirling Prize were: Spencer de Grey (Chair) - architect, Foster and Partners; MJ Long - architect, Long and Kentish Architects; Cindy Walters - architect, Walters and Cohen; Stephen Kieran – architect, Kieran Timberlake; and Sir Timothy Sainsbury architectural patron and client.
Source: RIBA & Haworth Tompkins Architects