Rooftop Theatre Munich – Third year – Teammate : Rachel McGee
The project was to create a puppet theatre on the upper floors of an existing building. As this housing building is located in a residential area of Munich, we had to question public spaces accessibility. The area is about 160 m² and include the ticket office, the theatre hall and stage, backstage, a lift, and toilets. The difficulty was to be able to organize everything on this rather small surface area, taking into account the existing and neighboring buildings. The choice was to create a cocoon in a cage, and to divide the functions into several floors.
The reception and ticket office are located on the ground floor, the existing stairs are preserved and the elevator is located nearby. The entrance is thus on the right and not by the existing one since a shop is already present. The catering area, as well as offices and toilets are located underneath the theatre space. The main area is open and very bright, it allows you to enjoy the view of Munich. The wooden slats on the facade filtrates the light and draws moving shadows on the concrete floor. The space left free in front of the vertical circulations opens the visitor’s view on the city and imposes a real entrance. Puppet theatre is an institution in Munich, if it is mainly dedicated to children it must also entertain accompanying adults.
The room is placed inside the opaque wooden cocoon. Our wish was to create an intimate and comfortable space for the stage, and more airy, bright and impressive space around it. The backstage area is located to the south, it is not closed but not accessible to the public, the space between the glass and the cocoon to the east being too narrow to allow passage. The roof has been fitted out to allow an outdoor space and to be able to enjoy both the panorama of the city and the view of the interior of the theatre through the glass pyramid. The pyramid allows the interior of the theatre to be naturally illuminated during the day and to offer a view of the stage, especially at night. Removable wooden slats make it possible to choose the intensity of the light and to create shadows inside the cocoon reminiscent of those on the facade.