Theatre Refurbishment
UK
Step 1 of 4. A former cinema, now a Grade II listed theatre, with raked seating on an upper and a lower level.
Step 2 of 4. A wheelchair user may leave the upper seating level for the new protected transfer lobby.
Step 3 of 4. Inside the protected transfer lobby, a platform lift carries the wheelchair user down the change in level.
Step 4 of 4. The existing lift, upgraded as an evacuation lift, takes them down and out. Able bodied occupants are expected to walk down the varying stairs.
A former cinema, now a Grade II listed theatre, with raked seating on an upper and a lower level.
A wheelchair user may leave the upper seating level for the new protected transfer lobby.
Inside the protected transfer lobby, a platform lift carries the wheelchair user down the change in level.
The existing lift, upgraded as an evacuation lift, takes them down and out. Able bodied occupants are expected to walk down the varying stairs.
Fire strategy support for the refurbishment of a theatre within a performance building, including addition of evacuation lift.
The problem
The building was a former Cinema, converted into theatre and performance areas in the 1990s in what has become a Grade II listed building. The scheme was undertaking localised refurbishment of one of the performance areas, but it quickly became evident no fire strategy was ever developed for the building, and knowledge of how the building operated was held by key personnel, but never documented.
Refurbishment and maintenance works were being undertaken on an ad-hoc basis, with use of different design guides, potentially to the detriment of overall safety over time.
What we did
Before focussing on the localised refurbishment works, Project Fire sought to work with the stakeholders to establish a working fire strategy, with the aim of setting a baseline approach. This involved site visits, stakeholder input, documenting existing procedures (daytime, showtime etc) and what systems were present. This process identified gaps in knowledge and design with respect to modern approaches, and the Association of British Theatre Technicians' technical standards for places of entertainment.
One of the main challenges the building evidently already had, was the ability to evacuate persons of reduced mobility. As part of the refurbishment works, the existing lift installation was upgraded to act as a passenger/evacuation lift, and a protected lobby introduced to transfer people between the upper and lower levels of the raked auditorium.