PROPERTY Royal Opera House gets green light


Westminster City Council has approved plans by architecture f irm Stanton Wi l l iams to ‘open up’ London’s Royal Opera House. In collaboration with Arup,


Te ‘Beacon of Light’ planned for Sunderland


FaulknerBrowns creates sport + wellness concept


FaulknerBrowns have announced they will design the ‘Beacon of Light’, a sport, well- ness and education facility in Sunderland. Te building will be the permanent home for football club Sunderland AFC. Te Beacon of Light project is backed by


the club’s Foundation of Light charity and will be the first of its kind, incorporating sport, health and education in one facility. Te site, next to the Stadium of Light in


Sunderland, will have an indoor football zone on the perched roof of the educa- tional and training facilities. Constructed from lightweight opaque materials, the building will be illuminated at night. Michael Hall,


sports partner at


FaulknerBrowns, said the buiding will have an engaging interior: “On entering visitors will be presented with a busy ‘street’ with inspirational zones for education, the world of work, health and wellbeing and sport and play. All will enjoy excellent views into the sports arena.” Details: http://lei.sr?a=d8K9r


NBBJ reveals design for shadowless skyscraper


International architecture firm NBBJ have revealed concept designs for two light reflecting, shadowless skyscrapers on the Greenwich Peninsula in London. Created using the design software


Rhinoceros, several blueprints for the mixed-use skyscrapers have been generated with the key aim of reflecting dispersed sunlight onto the streets below. With more skyscrapers being built in 2014


than in any other year, targeting the ‘doom and gloom’ effect and allowing sunlight to reach the ground is an important factor to bear in mind when constructing such colossal buildings. NBBJ’s designs allow for more than 60 per cent of dispersed sun- light to be cast on the streets below. Te two buildings would allow this to hap- pen by being designed in tandem, with each acting as a giant mirror to the other. Details: http://lei.sr?a=Z7t4D


16 Wilkinson Eyre revamps Weston Library


Following an £80m renovation by interna- tional architecture firm, Wi lkinson Eyre, the University of Oxford’s Weston Library has reopened to the public. Originally designed


by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott in the 1930s and part of the infamous grade II listed Bodleian Library in Oxford, the structure needed extreme moderni- sation and renovation to open it up to the public. Wilkinson Eyre have


Stanton Williams will trans- form the Royal Opera House (ROH), with the key aims of making it more accessible to the public, promoting ease of circulation and improving way-finding in the building. Stanton Williams director


Alan Stanton said: “We want to bring a sense of the magic that is created each night on stage to the open public spaces for all to enjoy. We are delighted that the project can now move forward.” Te plans include: • Opening up the main foyer at ground level, creating a more accessible visitor experience • Redesigning the Linbury Studio Theatre • Creating a glazed terrace at the amphithe- atre level, allowing space for extra covers in the restaurant and a providing a visual link with Covent Garden Piazza below


CGI of the new glazed entrance on Bow Street for the Royal Opera House


• A new staircase connecting the main foyer with to another hall, with a new escalator leading up to amphitheatre level Te plans will also create accessible spaces


for exhibitions, education and events. Work is expected to start on site in the


last quarter of 2015; as the main auditorium remains untouched the performance sched- ules for the ROH will not be affected. Te project will take around two years to complete. Details: http://lei.sr?a=u5Q5V


Te renovated Weston Library opened to the public late last month


incorporated several new features into the renovated Weston library such as new exhibition galleries and theatres. New storage has been installed for special collections, making previously restricted items more accessible to the public. New research facilities have been added as


well as a digital media centre, a suite of semi- nar rooms, and conservation workshops. With regards to the archival storage, Wilkinson Eyre have revised the layout, taking out the original upper floors and the previous central stack of


Read Leisure Opportunities online: www.leisureopportunities.co.uk/digital


storage – this has been replaced with updated underground archive space and a dedicated reading suite. For the first time ever, con- trolled sunlight is now allowed to enter the building through specially glazed slits, opening up the previously dark, isolated space. In terms of renovation and restoration, care


and attention was given to matching Scott’s ini- tial materials. 140 tonnes of salvaged stone was used, worked into the new facades and exter- nal stonework. Details: http://lei.sr?a=H3Y7d


Twitter: @leisureopps © CYBERTREK 2015


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