Royal Opera House, London
The regeneration of one of London’s most prestigious cultural venues delivers an opera house fit for the 21st Century.
“Stanton Williams’ respect for our heritage, appreciation of our London context and award-winning flair has delivered us an Opera House fit for the 21st century.”
— Alex Beard CBE, Chief Executive, Royal Opera House
The transformation of the Royal Opera House (ROH) delivers world-class performance and social facilities to enhance the experience for public, staff and performers alike. In doing so, this prestigious project facilitates the ROH’s objective of attracting new audiences for ballet and opera.
In addition to enhanced public areas which include redesigned Bow Street and Covent Garden piazza entrances, the other main intervention is the new, 400-seat Linbury Theatre on the lower ground floor. This exemplary second public performance space also serves as an artistic laboratory for the Royal Opera and Royal Ballet companies.
Throughout, an elegant and contemporary setting has been finely crafted from a limited palette of traditional materials including American black walnut, Crema Marfil marble, patinated brass and polished plaster.
By intensifying the use of the existing building, the project aimed to exceed Arts Council targets for a 10 per cent reduction in energy consumption (kWh/m2) over the 2010 baseline.
Winner of several national RIBA and Civic Trust Awards.
For & on behalf of Stanton Williams.
Photography by Hufton & Crow.