Ruddock Performing Arts Centre Birmingham, United Kingdom

By bob

Ruddock Performing Arts Centre

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bob

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Birmingham’s Ruddock Performing Arts Centre was created as a joint venture between King Edward VI High School and King Edward’s School. It opened on April 27, 2012 with a stunning performance of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana and Rimsky Korsakov’s Scheherazade.

Sound Space Design and Anne Minors Performance Consultants were brought onto the design team in October 2010 after the school’s initial scheme for their new performing arts centre had become too costly. Liaising with the heads of drama and music, cost and efficiency savings were made possible to realise the project. The Centre includes a 500-seat concert hall, a 140-seat flexible theatre, a dance rehearsal space, and 12 music practice rooms.

SSD and AMPC both conducted scheme reviews and proposed changes to improve the design and bring the costs down, particularly within Ruddock Hall, the school’s primary performance venue.

SSD’s variable acoustics plans and a detailed room form altered in concept and detail from the original design, and saw the introduction of acoustic curtains and changes to wall-shaping to prevent acoustic focussing. AMPC’s input improved the location of the control room and conducted a major re-assessment and re-design of the theatrical equipment provided in the scheme.