Gingerbread Theatre is the Sweetest!

The ‘Gingernut Cracker Ballet’ entry was inspired by theatrical innovations of the Victorian age and featured a rotating carousel and multiple panes of lit colourful ‘sugar glass’. This baked biscuit spectacular starred famed tin soldiers, ice skating bears and of course giant sweets. The entry, created by a tight team of talented Charcoalblue architects and designers, was the firm favourite amongst the 70+ entries from architecture practises around the UK.

In recognition of the win Charcoalblue has been awarded a £1000 winner’s prize to fund research. Speaking about the research approach, Charcoalblue Partner Elena Giakoumaki, said:

“At Charcoalblue we are passionate about accessibility and inclusivity in the performing arts. Theatrical spaces are inherently dense and often incredibly complex. From the stage door to the last standing position in the gods, theatre buildings are in their inception shared and profoundly communal. And here lies the contradiction: these eccentric, humane, communal spaces are often prohibitively hard to negotiate for so many of us, physically, visually, aurally or mentally.

This timely prize from the Museum of Architecture will assist us in our next phase of research. This will comprise of a further forum, collection of feedback from the wider industry and conclude in an evolving working document of comprehensive checklists and recommendations by the end of 2020. All findings will be shared with the Association of British Theatre Technicians who are responsible for the publication of the industry adopted Technical Standards for Places of Entertainment.”

MoA’s ‘Gingerbread City’ is now in its fourth year and aims to connect the public with architecture in an exciting way, sparking important conversations about cities and how we live in them.

To find out more, click here.