Gustav Ader

Gustav is a fully qualified architect, raised in Sweden before moving to London to work on performance arts buildings such as Birmingham Rep, George Bernard Shaw Theatre in Carlow, Ireland and Neues Musiktheater in Linz, Austria.

As a keen theatre and concert goer my approach to the work I do as a venue designer is shaped by the anticipation, the energy, the sense that something is about to happen that I feel as a patron. For me, the experience of a performance doesn’t begin at the curtain rise; it starts at the arrival point and is carried by the space itself as much as the work on stage.I’m interested in how a venue holds and builds on that energy—how it guides you, how it feels to move through it, and how it welcomes everyone regardless of ability with ease, clarity and a sense of joy.What matters most to me is creating spaces that are not just a backdrop, but an equal part of the experience: welcoming, inclusive, and atmospheric, where everyone feels part of something from the moment they walk in.

What Excites You Most About Your Work

Working with a genuinely supportive, talented and brilliant group of colleagues, with wonderful and extraordinary backgrounds, skills and experiences from the world of theatre and music. The guidance, collaboration, stories and experiences they have shared since I started has been nothing short of amazing.

What Brought You to Charcoalblue

The opportunity to fully immerse myself in the performing arts world and the chance to work with a broad range of architects and designers. Every project is different: a community theatre one month, a hypermodern gig venue the following, a flexible space or a complex conservation project following on from that. A feast of a project smörgåsbord.

A Problem You Love Solving

Solving the escape room challenge. The “what if we try this, what will that give us?” and that resolves not only that one issue but the knock on effect leads to many more positive solutions. This is particularly fun and rewarding if you collaborate with a colleague or architect and you bat the ideas back and forwards until all the puzzle pieces fall into place. Always be curious, free of preconceived ideas and keen to listen others. Oh, and don’t be afraid to ask questions…

What We Won’t Learn from Your CV

Although now retired from playing league, I’m a keen softballer, keeping a relatively safe glove at 1st base for many years. Forever part of the brilliant London Raiders Softball Club.

A Place That Shaped or Inspires You

London. there is no other place like it. The art, theatre, the ever changing nature of this city, for better and for worse. London is many things, but never predictable.

What Are You Learning About Right Now

My mother was an amazing textile artist, seamstress and fashion designer. She taught me a lot of tips and tricks years ago, but for a long time I hadn’t kept those skills up. It is fun taking that up again.

A Book, Podcast, Building, or Creative Work That Inspires You

How much space is available for this? I could write for days, but if I had to pick one, it has to be Gothenburg Concert Hall, designed by Nils Einar Eriksson in 1935. It is a great example of a building that enhances the excitement and anticipation form the moment you arrive, walk through the entrance foyer, ascend the stairs up to the promenade wrapping around the auditorium until you arrive into the main hall. Now, I don’t know what is like to be inside a violin, but I imagine sitting inside the timber clad sculptural room listening to the National Symphony Orchestra of Sweden playing, comes pretty close.

Cultural Value That Inspires You to Go the Extra Mile

Collaboration – It never fails to inspire me that we have so many extraordinary people with skillsets from different disciplines within Charcoalblue and the people we work with. Projects of any size and complexity has a greater chance of becoming successful if different viewpoints are heard and problems are approached from different angles. I become a better designer by listening and learning from others.