rostock, 2024

volkstheater werkstatt & blackbox spielstätte

The Volkstheater Rostock required a new workshop space, and found a plot in a planned Quartiersbau across the Unterwarnow channel from the mainstage and city center.
The new Quartier also gave them the opportunity to expand their programming into a small blackbox space integrated into the workshop.
They also requested a loading area for moving sets over to the mainstage, extensive set and costume storage, community classrooms, and a cafe for both employees and visitors. 

The site sits adjacent to disrupted wetlands and a former industrial waterfront—the design seeks a balance these two histories. It reuses facade materials from the disassembled warehouses, which clothe a simple timber armature; both strategies minimizing the CO₂e impact.

The complex is a collision between monumental and facade-orientened theatre architecture, and the traditional motifs of the brick, metal, and glass workshops of the industrial north. 

All work is mine alone.