Draft Text

INTRODUCTION (FRONT BOOK-END):
Dramatic and Expressive, the Vitra Theatre is a place for people of all ages to release themselves from the tight grip of reality and escape into the world of The theatre. It has been designed as a intimate space, perfect for local productions and performances. The central focus of the buildings design is found within the blured distinction between what is real and what is abstract. For these reasons, the structure adopts a certain surrealist persona. There is a poetic juxtapositon between the striking geometric forms and the more fluid and organic shapes. This becomes increasingly apparent in the junctions and empty space created by the insertion of the dome theatre. The dramatic forms of the exterior are sympethetic to the the theatrical function of the interior.

The Design for the vitra theatre, was inspired by Frank Gehry, in particular his Vitra Design Museum. His compositions are striking and fluid, presenting exciting conceptions of enclosing space and bold sculptural forms that entices and demand attention.

CONTEXT (SITE PLAN)
The theatre is situated in a quiet rural area with long sweeping hills and shallow valleys. The building is sensitive to its surroundings. Imitating the sloping level of the landscape, its roofs are slanted and grass-covered roofs, firmly cementing the building within its environment. The structure is positioned into a slight hill, with is northern walls acting as a retaining wall. This allows for minimal disruption to the landscape line.

MATERIALITY (INTERIOR & EXTERIOR)
The Materiality of the Vitra Theatre is highly modernist and minimal, yet it also reflects the natural surrounding environment. The surrealist approach and tension between what is real and what is abstract is continued throughout the building. On the exterior, the structure is rendered in white and appears to be a white stark modernist structure. To settle the loud modenist structure in its context, roofs are covered in grass to provide a continuous flow of the surrounding landscape. The interior however seems to be taken from a Scandinavian wooden house. The use of timber to clad the theatre dome is an integral aspect of the design. These materials are also accompanied by standard modern materials such as glass, steel and cement.

INTERIOR
The interior space offers a unique experience. The junction between the theatre dome and the exterior walls creates abstract and extraordinary spaces that form the lobby area. Lower floor entrances to the theatre are located towards the back of the building, entering at the front of the theatre. Access to the upper level of the theatre is on either side of the entrance. A long curved staircase winds around the left side of the building, while an elevator is located on the right. Upon entering the upper floor lobby, the entrance to the theatre is located at the centre of the stucture.

The dome-theater has one level of seating with a series of stairs down the middle for access. There are three access points to the theatre, one from the back and two from the front. The stage is quite wide, but narrow. There is also a large area behind and above the stage for rehursals, storage and services. The arrangement of the seating in the theate is inspired by the ancient Roman-Greco amphitheatres that provided entertainment for the ancient societies.