Project summary The Bluecoat Arts Centre project is a redevelopment of the oldest building in Liverpool City Centre as an arts, heritage, cultural business and retail complex. The scheme has restored the fabric of the Grade One listed building, and created a new wing housing an art gallery and performance space. Within this performance space, Charcoalblue worked closely with the architects to establish the form of the space, and designed seating for approximately 200, full stagelighting and audiovisual infrastructures and equipment, a semi-sprung floor and a fixed lighting grid. The grid is mounted in such a way as to allow it to be upgraded to a winched or motorised system in the future if funds permit. | Charcoalblue helped to develop the form of the performance space as well as designing the bleacher seating system and the technical infrastructure. The challenge was to equip the space for dance and drama performances, while being sympathetic to the very high architectural finish required by the architects. In flat floor mode, the space will be used as an art gallery, but has the ability to quickly transform into a seated room in a variety of formats.
"What we now have is a gem of a space, due to the architect’s vision and, significantly, the quality of Charcoalblue’s input. Andy and his team brought a pragmatic yet imaginative approach, their hands-on technical know-how, advice and enthusiasm for the project proving invaluable." Bryan Biggs - Artistic Director, Bluecoat Arts Centre |
